More than 5,000 people gathered on Tuesday, March 20 for an evening march down Michigan Ave to Daley Plaza to mark the 4th anniversary of the beginning of the Iraq War — and to demand an end to war funding and troops home now.

Organized by the ad hoc M20 Coalition, Tuesday's protest was the second successful effort by Chicagoans opposed to the war to march down the city's showcase commercial boulevard since the March 2003 mass arrest [ 2 ] of over 800 people at the onset of the Iraq invasion ignited an on-going free speech battle with the city.

Contingents included veterans from the recently organized Chicago chapter of Iraq Veterans Against the War, Military Families Speak Out, embattled Cook County nurses, union postal workers, church delegations, Arab American and Muslim community organizations, student groups from area colleges and high schools and dozens of other groups from the Chicago metro area. In the mix? Plenty of parents pushing kids in strollers, seniors, and passersby who joined the march from the sidewalks.

Photos: [ 1 | 2 ]
Video from Chicago Independent Television: [ Quicktime | Windows ]
CIMC wire accounts: [ 1 | 2 | 3 ]
Audio from From The Trenches: [ March 2007 episode ]

Additional coverage from the Chicago FreeSpeechZone: [ March 20 student actions | The Road to M20: Once More, With Feeling ]

Additional coverage from Third Coast Press: [4th Anniversary Issue]

Corporate coverage: [ 1 | 2 ]