Palmetto couple joins voices calling for justice, equality during march on Washington

TAMPA, Fla. - Christine Meier had never marched before, but there was no better place to start.

"I decided I was going to march for my black and brown nieces and nephews," she said. "I want them to grow up and have happy, healthy unafraid lives."

She and her husband, Rich, who live in Palmetto, booked flights in the wake of the death of George Floyd in May.

While this march was smaller than the 1963 "March for Jobs and Freedom," 50,000 people still showed up -- during a pandemic -- join their voices in calling for racial equality and social justice.

One of many who addressed the crowd in Washington Friday was Jacob Blake Sr., the father of the man shot this week by police in Wisconsin.

"Every black person in the United States is going to stand up," he told the crowd. "We're tired."

The march had political implications, coming a day after President Trump held the Republican convention at the White House.

Speakers urged attendees to organize.

"We must march to the ballot box. Or the mailbox," said DNC Chair Tom Perez. "To demand the leadership we deserve."

Christine Meier noted that the rally was peaceful and said feelings of harmony and change were in the air.

"It wasn't like a parade or a protest or a rock concert," she said. "It was more like my experiences in Black church. There was a lot of 'amen,' there was a lot of mothers putting their arms around their kids."

Even though her nieces and nephews couldn't be with her in the nation's capital, this was her way of putting her arms around them.

"I cannot express how much I love those kids," she said. "I cannot express how much it would hurt me if somebody hurt them. Even just with unkind words."

Organizers said they hoped to use the rally to increase voter registration, encourage participation in the Census, push for a new Voting Rights Act, and push for the passage of the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act to overhaul police training.