by Craig Simpson

My Most Memorable Event

While there are plenty of good ones there, I guess my most vivid memory was the 1969 Counter-Inaugural, specifically the Agnew Reception. The mood was pretty desolate then. Massive demonstrations against the war involving hundreds of thousands of people had taken place in the last few years. The optimism that reigned when Lyndon Johnson announced he would not run for re-election was gone. The euphoria that caught some during the McCarthy and Kennedy campaigns for the Democratic nomination had faded with Kennedy’s death and McCarthy’s defeat. With Nixon’s election and his vow to continue the war until an “honorable” peace was attained, it had turned bleak.

1969 Counter-Inaugural 1969 Counter-Inaugural (15th & Penn)

By the time of Nixon’s Inauguration, the mood among activists could be further characterized as frustrated and bitter. A Counter-Inaugural was organized (I can’t even remember by who anymore). On January 19, the day before the official Inauguration, we gathered at a huge tent on the Monument grounds. I remember listening to speeches and can’t remember much of what was said except that a number of the now fallen spoke including Dave Dellinger and Phil Ochs. Perhaps the worst memory of that day was when a woman (I don’t remember who now) spoke about Women’s Liberation and was roundly booed. I was a precursor, I suppose, of the many ways the Movement was to splinter over the next few years.

After a few more speeches, the crowd grew restless and demanded to march and soon we were parading down Pennsylvania Avenue. The march was led by former Viet Nam vets and veterans of the Abraham Lincoln Brigade followed by students, various left wing and peace groups, a sprinkling of unions, religious groups, feminists, yippies and other anarchists, socialists, communists and other individuals just protesting the war. We only numbered about 10,000 that day--relatively small for a national demonstration.

The parade passed by a small group of Nazi counter demonstrators around 10th & Pennsylvania. They were quickly confronted by demonstrators, some of whom threw rocks and fought with the Nazis. Two high school classmates of mine who later joined the Route 1 demonstrations at Maryland, Barry Lieberman and Ronnie Goodman, were among those confronting the Nazis.

The rest of the parade went relatively peacefully and ended at 3rd Street, near the Capital. The grounds were muddy and the temperature was fairly cold, but the spirits were surprising high after the march. As we were trekking across the Mall back toward the tent, someone was shouting that a Reception for Vice-President Elect Spiro Agnew was being held at the History & Technology Museum at 14th Street & the Mall. By the time my friends and I got there, a crowd had already gathered. The crowd was shouting taunts at the guests who were arriving in tuxedos and evening gowns (a stark contrast to the dress of the demonstrators).


Most Hilarious Scene

Soon, Park Police arrived on horses, along with a contingent of riot police with helmets accompanied by gas masks. The most hilarious scene I’ve ever witnessed at a demonstration soon followed when the horses began depositing their droppings. Lacking other ammunition, demonstrators picked up the fresh, steaming horse manure and began pelting the guests as they walked down a long red carpet that stretched from the street on up the steps of the Museum on the Mall side. Soon every person who stepped out of their limousine was hit with horse manure, staining their evening finery and undoubtedly stinking up the reception. Perhaps it was the first exposure of the stench of corruption that Agnew brought with him and later forced his resignation.

The police were furious and soon charged the demonstrators who now numbered about 1,000. I witnessed an individual officer who charged wildly into the crowd chasing someone I suppose he thought was a manure thrower. He suddenly stopped and realized he was surrounded by demonstrators with no other officers around. Quickly the demonstrators pounced, removing his helmet, gun, badge, and nightstick and pummeling him with their fists. It seemed like an eternity before his fellow officers realized his plight and came to his rescue. It was an enlightening experience and the first time I had ever seen anyone get the best of the police. It is rumored that one person later active with the Route 1 protests still has the riot helmet—but that remains just a rumor.

The police quickly retreated to their lines and a standoff ensued. The mounted police were withdrawn (probably to deprive the protestors of ammunition) and tear gas was never used (I imagine they didn’t want to gas Agnew’s guests). For the next couple hours, demonstrators periodically threw the remaining horse manure and officers periodically attempted to move the crowd back. As the evening progressed, the Counter-Inaugural Ball featuring various rock bands started about 100 yards away on the Monument grounds. Demonstrators slowly drifted away from the Agnew Reception and over to the Counter-Inaugural as Agnew’s guests had largely gone inside the Museum. Among those who were there that night that later participated in some of the Route 1 protests were Marc Miller and my brother Bob.

The reports in the Washington Post the next day completely missed the story as they reported some of the arrests that took place and reported that demonstrators had thrown mud and dirt (they must have gotten their story from the Agnew people).

1969 Counter-Inaugural (15th & Penn)

Rocks Thrown at the President

The next day, counter-inaugural demonstrators were to gather at 15th and Pennsylvania along the parade route. As I joined the crowd that morning, I noted that anything that could possibly be thrown had been removed from the area. In addition, the area was surrounded by men in trench coats (and also dispersed in the crowd) that were obviously undercover police of one variety or other. There were probably only about 1,000 demonstrators in the vicinity, mixed in with others who just wanted to view the parade and the undercover police. The Washington Post reported that Inaugural security consisted of 3,000 DC police, 5,000 regular troops and 1,000 DC National Guard.

Despite the police planning, some of the demonstrators obviously came prepared. When the Nixon motorcade came into view, Nixon was riding in an open car surrounded by Secret Service agents both standing on the running boards and moving swiftly beside the car on foot. The motorcade sped up as it neared the intersection, and I was surprised when it was still greeted by a barrage of rocks. The Secret Service must be given credit. I didn’t see a single rock strike the car as they deftly caught them or batted them away. My friends and I moved quickly to leave the area as the apparent undercover police moved in on the crowd.

Post Script

When I left the Inauguration and reflected back on those two days, I felt more determination. Despite the gloomy prospects of ending the war, there was a committed group of people that weren’t going to stop fighting the unjust policies of the U.S. government.

I rarely talk about those days now. Not because I’m ashamed of anything that happened or anything I did. I’ve made plenty of good decisions in life and my share of mistakes. I don’t talk about it much because people don’t believe that things like this ever happened. They think that the story has grown along with the years. I guess I really can’t blame them. Can you imagine this happening now? Any participants caught would likely be labeled terrorists and shipped off to Guantonomo.

Over the last 30 years, I’ve been elected to a leadership positions in the local transit union where I helped win a major battle against privatization and organized a new unit of transit workers among other things. I retired after 27 years working between WMATA and the union and took a year off. I then went back to work to lead the Metropolitan Washington Central Labor Council political effort in Maryland and achieved some modest success there leading the effort to elect a labor leader as delegate to the state assembly and pass a Living Wage law in Prince Georges County. I retired again for a year and now I’m back to work heading up the Progressive Maryland (a citizen advocacy group) election effort for 2006.

Despite the passage of the years, thinking back on those days helps to renew my determination to continue the battle to change the devastating policies that the Bush Administration and their many minions pursue. I remember now that in the darkest hours of the antiwar movement, the fight continued and ultimately helped to end an unjust war.

Prince George's Living Wage ceremony in 2003