THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, June 2, 1996 TAG: 9606020085
SECTION: FRONT PAGE: A1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY ELIZABETH SIMPSON, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: WASHINGTON LENGTH: 123 lines
The thunderous sound of 10,000 children marching to a national Stand For Children rally on Saturday put to rest the adage that children should be seen and not heard.
``Who do we stand for?'' chanted a contingent of 35 South Hampton Roads children as they stomped their way with thousands of other youngsters across the Arlington Memorial Bridge. ``We stand for the children, the mighty, mighty children.''
When the children rounded the bend to the Lincoln Memorial, they came face-to-face with a sea of about 200,000 people who had come to rally in the name of children.
Teachers and YMCA leaders, nuns and preachers, parents and grandparents, coaches, counselors, day-care providers, not to mention even more children, stretched from the steps of the Lincoln Memorial to the base of Washington monument.
The collective message: Leave no child behind.
While the day sometimes seemed more picnic than social cause, it was clear the children knew what the rally was all about.
``Children shouldn't be killed,'' said 11-year-old Antonio Joyner of Norfolk, trying his best to sum up the Stand For Children themes. ``And they shouldn't be abused by their parents. And they should get the things they need.''
The Stand For Children march was billed as a national day of community renewal and commitment to America's young. Avoiding political themes, speakers challenged participants to pledge themselves to improving children's lives at home and in their communities.
``We commit ourselves to building a just America that leaves no child behind and we commit ourselves to ensuring all our children have a healthy and a safe passage to adulthood,'' said Marian Wright Edelman, rally organizer and founder of the Children's Defense Fund, a Washington child advocacy group.
``We do not stand here advocating big government,'' she told the crowd, some of whom resorted to dipping their hot feet in the mall's Reflecting Pool. ``We stand here advocating just government.''
Still, the rally drew the criticism of several conservative groups, which insisted the event was little more than a liberal attempt to turn back the clock on social reform and government budget cutting.
The rally's participants didn't see it that way. ``If anyone tells me there's no need to stand up and shout for the welfare of children, I would say they are blind or don't have a social conscience,'' Dr. H. McDonald Rimple of Norfolk, a youth mentor at Norfolk's Bank Street Memorial Baptist Church, said.
Marcher's signs echoed the sentiment: ``Kill the deficit, yes - kill our children, no.'' ``Stand for the children, they will touch the stars.'' ``Taking a stand for children, don't let us die in the streets.''
The day's speakers included celebrities such as actress Rosie O'Donnell and singer Melissa Manchester, but the most stirring testimony came from children.
One 15-year-old San Diego girl talked about what it was like to grow up in a neighborhood where youth gangs are common. ``I can give up, or I can fight to make a difference,'' said Priscilla Ramirez. ``If you can't understand why children join gangs, be thankful.
Another speaker, Tenisha Spears, talked about what it was like to grow up with a drug-addicted mother and thanked her grandmother for taking her in while her mother sought treatment.
An estimated 500 South Hampton Roads residents attended the rally, including four buses that supplied free seats sponsored by a coalition of local child-advocacy groups. Head Start, Commonwealth College and the National Council of Negro Women also sponsored buses to the march. Others traveled to Washington by car and van.
A select group of children from a mentoring group at Bank Street Memorial Baptist Church and South Hampton Roads chapters of Jack and Jill of America were part of the 10,000 children asked to participate in a procession that opened the formal ceremonies Saturday afternoon.
The children started the day at 6 a.m., some walking to the Norfolk church from nearby public housing communities, others getting rides from parents. They rode 3 1/2 hours on a bus, took a subway ride and then trudged to Arlington Memorial Bridge.
But by the time the children started the march, their energy was renewed as they held hands, sang songs and bounded across the bridge to the rally.
``If they see us marching, maybe it will help people to do something to help protect children,'' said Dana Nelson, a Norfolk 15-year-old.
For Charles Reynolds, one of the Norfolk church mentors who accompanied the children, the day was reminiscent of Washington civil rights' marches he participated in decades ago. ``It's good for the youngsters to see others standing up for something good,'' he said.
Still, he wondered whether lawmakers would hear the message. ``It seems like politicians are different today then they were back then,'' he said.
Thousands of march participants signed pledges to make a difference after they went home from the rally. ``I will do my part to improve the quality of life for every child in America and take at least one step to help a child,'' the sheet read.
As the Bank Street church group and local Jack and Jill chapters gathered to return to Norfolk, they appeared to be on a rally high.
``I think the experience of seeing thousands of people here is a good memory for them,'' Rimple said. ``It will live in their memory a long time.''
One Norfolk marcher, 14-year-old Antoine Elliot, summed up his feelings as he headed for the bus home: ``I feel like I made a difference today, and it made a difference in me, too.'' ILLUSTRATION: Color photo
HUY NGUYEN/The Virginian-Pilot
Mary O'Neill, from Tinton Falls, N.J., holds her daughter Caitlin,
11, at the Stand For Children rally in Washington on Saturday where
10,000 children marched to join 200,000 people between the Lincoln
Memorial and the Washington monument.
HUY NGUYEN PHOTOS/The Virginian-Pilot
More than 10,000 children were at Saturday's rally. Among them were
Jack and Jill members from Norfolk: Jessica Williams (green shirt),
Toya Williams (green track suit) and Millicent Mason (on right in
white shirt).
Norfolk participants link hands at the Stand For Children march
billed as a national day of renewed commitment to the nation's
children.
Jamilla Brown of Norfolk watches the stage presentations of song and
dance in Washington on Saturday. Avoiding political themes, speakers
challenged participants to pledge themselves to improving children's
lives at home and in their communities.
KEYWORDS: DEMONSTRATIONS CHILDREN by CNB