The Sound of Democracy Awakening

On Monday April 18, thousands marched and more than 300 people were arrested after a non-violent mobilization for democracy reforms on the steps of the U.S. Capitol building. Alexandra Dos Santos traveled from Brooklyn, New York to join the movement. This is her story.

Democracy Awakening Rally in Washington D.C.

More than 5,000 people marched with Democracy Awakening, calling on Congress to restore voting rights and get big money out of politics.

As I watched the action unfold during the climax of Democracy Awakening last Monday — when hundreds of activists risked arrest sitting in at the steps of the Capitol building — I heard two sounds collide. I heard the sound of their chants — loud, despite their distance from me — and the sound of music from two young men playing the drums on an empty water pail and a young woman strumming a guitar.

The drums banged along to complement the excited chants of the activists on the steps, while the guitar served as an anchor, something to keep the atmosphere peaceful. Between the electricity of the voices and the fluidity of the instruments working together, the hot April day in the capital turned blissful.

Although the people I stood with on the grass, behind the police barricade, were physically separated from those risking arrest on the other side, we were with them in other ways. Though we couldn’t join hands with them, we could shout with them.

“We love you, we love you,” we chanted every time a new group was led away by police.

“Thank you, thank you!”

We made sure that every raised fist from the other side was met with cheers, claps, and words of appreciation.

These activists — who sat on the steps to bring attention to the havoc corporate money and attacks on voting rights are having on our democracy — were the heroes of the day.

They deserved our fullest attention, and that’s what they got.

The non-violence, the inclusiveness, the dedication: all of it was expressed through sound. The day reminded me of what it’s like to be part of a whole, a feeling I haven’t experienced with such intensity in a long time. It was when I heard the chant of a Greenpeace volunteer, intertwined with that of an NAACP member and joined by union workers and independent activists, that I felt what cooperation really was.

The boundaries that separated all of us dissolved.

Annie Leonard said it best in a speech to the Greenpeace team as we prepared for the rally:

“We can’t isolate ourselves as a group. We are stronger together. It’s not all about us,” she said of the weekend ahead, “it’s about the movement.”

And on Sunday, we got to hear from many of the leaders in this broad and diverse movement.

NAACP President Cornell William Brooks spoke with passion about those who came before us who fought and died for the right to vote. He invoked “stay woke,” imploring us to remain vigilantly aware of the flaws of the system, to be wry of those in power, to question the answers we’re given, and find the truth ourselves.

This awakening has happened for so many already, but there are still many sleeping — and many of them happen to be in Congress. They are those who turn a blind eye to injustice and who are invested in maintaining the status quo. They need to hear the piercing sound of an alarm clock.

I like to think that we served as that alarm.

And what does an alarm do when the groggy sleeper presses the ‘snooze’ button? It goes off again. And again. It goes off until that person is up with feet on the ground. The pro-democracy movement will continue to make noise long after the echoes of last week’s action have died out.

Greenpeace’s New York volunteer group, for one, is committed to keeping up the fight for climate justice and democracy reform. Immediately after Democracy Awakening, we talked about having our own days of non-violent direct action, organizing a festival to raise awareness, and collaborating with other groups to maximize our impact.

As I settled back into our volunteer meeting two days after the march, I looked around the room as if for the first time. Something indescribable happened when I shared a voice with so many others: I didn’t feel so small. Democracy Awakening has shown me that I’m in good company in wanting to make a change on a grand scale; these fellow advocates for change stretch far beyond Greenpeace.

We’re growing in numbers, and every action, each meeting, serves as a step forward toward the change we need.

When I got home from D.C., I made sure to keep talking about voting. It was the day of the New York primary, and I couldn’t help but say to my friends, “Happy New York Primary!” It was because I felt privileged to be able to vote, something the martyrs of the voting rights movement lived and died for. Excitement ran through me as I took my first step toward electing a candidate who will represent me and my values. I felt a sense of pride after voting — young people like me are taking our democracy into our own hands, through the ballot box, through protest, and expressing our views.

Then I heard about how many voters were turned away at the polls in Brooklyn, and reality struck hard. There’s still so much work to do.

Yes, there is still so much work, but we are not shying away from it. And we certainly have enough inspiration and support to carry on this movement. Even now, the music from Democracy Awakening still reverberates in my head: the speeches, the chants, and the conversations.

The sound of revolution is not easily forgotten.

 

Alexandra Dos Santos

Alexandra Dos Santos.

Alexandra Dos Santos is a writer and activist from Long Island, New York, and a volunteer for Greenpeace in New York City. She is currently going to school for journalism at St. Joseph’s College, Brooklyn.

The views represented here are her own.


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