One Big March, Lots of Little Messages
Grist
By Ben Adler
Organizers estimate that 310,000 people joined the New York climate march, and each one had a point to hammer home.
A subway advertisement from the New York City Office of Emergency Management asks, “Do you live in one of NYC’s six hurricane evacuation zones? Know your zone.” As activists piled into the train on their way to the People’s Climate March on Sunday morning, it seemed an appropriate omen.
The march’s central aim was to bring the people on the frontlines of the climate crisis to the center of global capitalism, to force the media and the world leaders assembled for the United Nations General Assembly this week to look.
The organizers estimate 310,000 people showed up, which vastly exceeded both their public prediction of 100,000 and even their higher private projections. [Update: Organizers later increased their attendance estimate to nearly 400,000.] Critics may come up with lower numbers, but the following facts are inarguable: The marchers lined up along Manhattan’s Central Park West from 61st Street to 96th Street, which is 1.5 miles. They started marching at 11:30 a.m., and the back of the crowd still hadn’t moved by 1:45. There were a lot of people.
