Restoring Honor rally
 Crowds gathered for the rally | |
| Date | August 28, 2010 |
|---|---|
| Participants | Sponsors: Glenn Beck Special Operations Warrior Foundation Promoters: Organizers: Speakers: Music: Others: Presenters: Badges of Merit – civilian: – for Hope, Albert Pujols – for Charity, Jon Huntsman, Sr. To armed services members: James "Eddie" Wright Tom Kirk |
| Website | GlennBeck.com/828 |
The Restoring Honor rally was held in Washington D.C. on August 28, 2010 and was promoted by conservative pundit Glenn Beck as a values-and-patriotism event to "restore honor in America" and to raise funds for the non-profit Special Operations Warrior Foundation.[2]
Billed as a "celebration of America's heroes and heritage"[3] many veterans were honored. Along with Beck, speakers included former Republican vice presidential nominee Sarah Palin[4] and activist Alveda King, the niece of Martin Luther King Jr.[5][6]
Beck received criticism from some civil rights leaders of the black community and media observers for holding the event at the Lincoln Memorial on August 28, which marked the 47th anniversary site of Martin Luther King Jr.'s historic "I Have A Dream" speech.[2]
Announcement
On November 21, 2009, at The Villages, Florida, Beck announced a rally for nine months hence, on August 28, 2010, in Washington, D.C., at the Lincoln Memorial.[7] Beck originally intended the rally as political, where he intended to promote his next book, The Plan, in which he would outline a century-long plan to "save the country"; but, over the 2009 Christmas holidays, Beck came to the decision to re-focus it in a non-political direction: on raising awareness and funds for the charity the Special Operations Warrior Foundation, because soliciting tax-exempt funds to pay for the rally through the charity restricts political activity. The charity receives funds collected above the amount needed to pay for the rally.[8][9][10] Beck named his planned rally "Restoring Honor," saying its theme was "about honoring character" as well as honoring the sacrifices of U.S. Armed Services personnel.[11]
Commentators noted that the planned date would be the forty-seventh anniversary of the Great March on Washington, at which, on August 28, 1963, King had accompanied an assemblage of 250,000 African-American Civil Rights Movement marchers from the Washington Monument to the Lincoln Memorial, where King delivered his "I Have a Dream" speech. Beck said the timing and place for his event was coincidental but appropriate, with its theme agreeing with King's "message of focusing on the content of a person's character above all else."[12] The rally would coincide with the Reclaim the Dream commemorative march planned by Al Sharpton and Martin Luther King III for further down on the National Mall and adjacent to the Tidal Basin, at the future site of the Martin Luther King, Jr. National Memorial, which created concern over the two groups possibly clashing.[2][13]
Preparations
Organizers hoped as many as 300,000 would attend,[14] with someone from the National Park Service's telling ABC News that the Service's preparatory plans estimated that attendance would reach 100,000.[15] Former Governor of Alaska and 2008 Republican Vice Presidential candidate Sarah Palin[2] and Alveda King,[16] niece of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., were announced speakers, with expected attendees to include Major League Baseball player Albert Pujols and MLB manager Tony La Russa, both of whom decided to attend after being assured by Beck that the rally would not be political.[17][18] Beck broadcasted his TV show from the Fox News Washington studio instead of New York in the week leading up to the event.
Pre-event criticism
Civil rights movement
Various civil rights leaders criticized Beck leading up to the event, pointing out that picking the anniversary of King's speech was a "deliberate way to distort King's message."[19] Rev. Carlton W. Veazey, minister of the National Baptist Convention and president of Religious Coalition for Reproductive Choice, held a press conference to announce its opposition to Beck's rally.[2] After referring to Beck's comment from July 2009 that President Obama has "over and over again" exposed himself as a guy "who has a deep-seated hatred for white people or the white culture", Veazey stated:
What they are trying to do is divert the nation from the agenda of Martin Luther King to their agenda, and I think that's hijacking his legacy. What they have said all the time, have been trying to divide people, trying to exclude people. For him to lead a rally with that kind of attitude taints the whole affair.[2]
In an interview on Fox News Sunday the day after the rally, Beck distanced himself from the comments, saying, "It shouldn't have been said; it was poorly said; I have a big fat mouth sometimes, and I say things ... and that's not the way people should behave and it was not accurate."[20] He stated that he had mistaken racism for liberation theology which he thinks Obama is committed to.
Rev. Al Sharpton, president of the National Action Network called Beck's event an "outright attempt to flip the imagery of Dr. King", while accusing Beck of "circumventing" and "distorting" King's legacy.[19] Former civil rights leader Eleanor Holmes Norton, the District of Columbia’s non-voting representative in Congress, opined that if Beck "has any respect for the unity across racial lines that August 28 represented, he would not hold what looks to be an all-white march that cannot possibly appeal across racial lines because of how he has modeled himself on radio and television."[21]
In speaking on Beck's rally, Martin Luther King III, son of the late Dr. King, noted that as a "champion of free speech," his father "would be the first to say that those participating in Beck's rally have the right to express their views."[22] However, King reminded Beck that his father's dream "rejected hateful rhetoric and all forms of bigotry or discrimination, whether directed at race, faith, nationality, sexual orientation or political beliefs."[22] King also pointed out that his father "advocated compassion for the poor" and "wholeheartedly embraced the social gospel," noting that King's spiritual and intellectual mentors included social gospel advocates Walter Rauschenbusch and Howard Thurman.[22]
In the build up to the event, Beck attracted criticism, opposition, and mockery from various media personalities and writers. MSNBC's Keith Olbermann mockingly claimed he was worried about Glenn Beck's "sanity" after Beck said that he wanted to let "the spirit" speak through him at the rally.[23] Comedy Central's Jon Stewart dubbed the rally "Beckapalooza" and "I Have A Scheme",[24] while Stephen Colbert announced he was ready to follow Beck in his "silver freedom spaceship that runs on human tears."[25]
On the internet, Jason Linkins at The Huffington Post seized on what he deemed an "insanely melodramatic video promotion of the rally, replete with Goldline scamflackery" to comedically posit that the "Glenn Beck rally will be like (the) moon landing, Wright Brothers and Rosa Parks all rolled into one massive orgasm of American history."[26] Author/activist Glenn Greenwald created a website and video entitled "Glenn Beck is Not Martin Luther King Jr.", which provided a petition featuring over 30,000 signatures the day before the rally, denouncing Beck.[27] Meanwhile, another organization to utilize web videos in their denunciation of Beck, were Media Matters for America, who compiled a large compilation of related clips and excerpts criticizing the event.[28] Additionally, in the online Salon magazine, an "incensed" A.J. Calhoun, who attended the original 1963 King rally, denounced Beck for holding a "rally of right-wingers, Tea Partiers, neoconservatives, fascists, the delusional and the truly wicked, (and) the New Kluxers disguised as patriots wanting something they cannot or will not identify openly."[29]
8-27 Kennedy Center event
On the evening of August 27, 2010, at an event not officially connected with the rally the next day, Glenn Beck and David Barton co-hosted the "Divine Destiny" inspirational patriotic meeting at the 2,454-seat Concert Hall in the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts. Beck and his wife had rented the Hall and in the audience were mostly religious leaders to whom Beck and Barton had given tickets. The remaining tickets were offered to the general public for free. Many lined up all night inside the Kennedy Center to get the tickets which were released the morning of the 27th, and Beck made a surprise visit to the people in line.[30] The event was emceed by Scott Baker, with Randy Forbes, founder of the Congressional Prayer Caucus, and Christian-Zionist pastor John Hagee offering prayers and with former Texas Supreme Court Justice Raul Gonzales leading the Pledge of Allegiance. An "all-star choir," in the genre of gospel music, performed various religious or patriotic selections (while several of its members performed praise dance), including a rendition of "The Battle Hymn of the Republic." Twila Paris sang “True North” and J. E. McKissic, co-pastor of Cornerstone Baptist Church of Fort Worth, Texas, sang "God Bless America."
Beck was introduced by Pat Gray, his radio show co-host and close friend who baptized him in 1999 into Mormonism, and spoke briefly, remarking:
This building was [filled] by invitation [to] some of the best and bravest pastors, priests, rabbis, clerics in the country. Tomorrow, we will announce the beginning of the Black-Robed Regiment. And here is what’s amazing, here’s what’s amazing, they keep saying this is a political event, and it is not. It is not a political event at all.[31] I'm convinced that not just this event, but this time period is going to be remembered as the beginning of the great awakening in America.[32]
Other speakers included Barton, televangelist Gloria Copeland, Rabbi David Lapin, Dr. Patrick Lee of the Franciscan University of Steubenville, the Rev. Miles McPherson (formerly a San Diego Chargers football player), actor Chuck Norris, and the Rev. Dave Roever (a decorated Vietnam War veteran).[33]
Some theologically conservative Evangelicals criticized Beck's Kennedy Center gathering,[34] believing it doctrinally unsound for Christians and non-Christians to jointly participate in a prayer meeting. For example, Brannon Howse, a professional organizer of Christian conferences, argued: "The Apostle Paul warns Christians against uniting with unbelievers in spiritual endeavors. While I applaud and agree with many of Glenn Beck's conservative and constitutional views, that does not give me or any other Bible-believing Christian justification to compromise Biblical truth by spiritually joining Beck."[35] For their part, Beck and his radio side-kick Pat Gray are Mormons – whose faith, for example, Dr. Richard Land, head of the Southern Baptist Convention’s Washington-based Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission, in a 2007 interview on Bloomberg Television, said was a "fourth Abrahamic religion,"[36] after Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. Land himself did not criticize the event, but after Beck's 8-28 rally said: "This guy's on secular radio and television but his shows sound like you're listening to the Trinity Broadcasting Network, only [ironically] it's more orthodox and there's no appeal for money ... and today he sounded like Billy Graham."[37]
8-28 Restoring Honor rally
Beck himself asked that attendees to refrain from bringing signs or guns to the event. Speakers at the 8-28 rally included Sarah Palin, Alveda King, as well as Beck himself.[38] Many in the crowd watched the proceedings on large television screens.[39] On the edges of the Mall, vendors sold "Don't Tread on Me" flags, popular with Tea Party activists.[39] Other activists distributed fliers urging voters to "dump Obama."[39] However, the speeches themselves were restricted from overt partisanship as the tax-exempt co-sponsor of the event, the Special Operations Warrior Foundation, required all speakers to sign an agreement promising not to talk politics.[40] Of note, all proceeds raised through Beck's promotion of the event were slated to go to SOWF, after the estimated $1 million costs for the rally itself were covered.[40] Beck gave out three "badge of merit" awards to three people for service in the categories of faith, hope, and charity.
Catherine McDonald, head of the Atlanta chapter of the 9.12 Project and member of the Georgia chapter of Americans for Prosperity, which organized a bus trip to the rally; opined that Beck was providing a forum for people who believe the nation has lost its sense of honor and focus, remarking "These are people who believe this country was founded on good principles and God."[41]
Alveda King
Alveda King, a niece of the civil rights leader Dr. King, appealed to rally attendees to "focus not on elections or on political causes but on honor, on character ... not the color of our skin.[39] Yes, I too have a dream. ... That America will pray and God will forgive us our sins and revive us our land." King, also addressed the civil rights leaders and members of the black community who had been critical of the rally, responding that "My daddy, Rev. A.D. King, my granddaddy, Martin Luther King, Senior – we are a family of faith, hope and love. And that's why I'm here today. Glenn says there is one human race, I agree with him. We are not here to divide. I'm about unity. That's why I'm here, and I want to honor my uncle today."[42]
Sarah Palin
Palin told the tens of thousands who stretched from the marble steps of the Lincoln Memorial to the grass of the Washington Monument that calls to transform the country were not enough.[39] In echoing the name of the rally she said "We must restore America and restore her honor."[39] Palin likened the rally participants to the civil rights activists from 1963, and said the same spirit that helped them overcome oppression, discrimination and violence would help this group as well.[39] Palin's lines such as, “ Look around you. You're not alone. You are Americans! You have the same steel spine and moral courage of Washington and Lincoln and Martin Luther King. It is in you. It will sustain you as it sustained them,” were greeted by the crowd's standing ovations and chants of "U!–S!–A!"[43]
Glenn Beck
Beck, sounding at times like an evangelical preacher,[39] opened his remarks by decreeing that "Something beyond imagination is happening, America today begins to turn back to God."[39] Beck then added,
Let's be honest. If you look at history, America has been both terribly good and terribly bad. It has been both, but to concentrate on the bad instead of learning from the bad and repairing the bad and then looking to the good that is still out in front of us within our reach— We have a choice today. We can either let those scars crush us or redeem us.[44][45][46] We must extend to those we disagree with— But, you are honest and have integrity! There were people on stage that not only took a great personal risk but also, one in particular, organized for our president – lead a prayer breakfast – is a Democrat. You think the media would tell you that "This was only a bunch of tea partiers." No, that person stood on the...stage because of honor. And there is a lot we can disagree on but our values and our principles can unite us. We must discover them again.[44][47] Recognize your place to the creator. Realize that he is our king. He is the one who guides and directs our life and protects us. I ask, not only if you would pray on your knees, but pray on your knees but with your door open for your children to see.[39]
Beck, in referring to Dr. King, noted that he had spent the night before in the same Washington hotel where King had put the finishing touches on his famous "I Have a Dream" speech.[39]
Crowd size
NBC News estimated 500,000 people,[48] and NBC Nightly News host Lester Holt said "tens, perhaps hundreds of thousands".[49] MSNBC estimated "tens of thousands who stretched from the marble steps of the Lincoln Memorial to the grass of the Washington Monument",[50] and NBC Nightly News anchor Lester Holt said "tens, perhaps hundreds of thousands". ABC News estimated "hundreds of thousands of people from around the country".[51] Fox News wrote about "huge crowds" and "thousands in attendance returned home carrying a message of making America better".[52]
CBS News commissioned a crowd size estimate with aerial pictures by the company AirPhotosLive.com. The company estimated that 87,000 people attended the rally, with a margin of error of 9,000, meaning that "between 78,000 and 96,000 people attended the rally".[53] However, the CBS article says "AirPhotosLive.com based the attendance on aerial pictures it took over the rally, which stretched from in front of the Lincoln Memorial along the Reflecting Pool to the Washington Monument," which appears to exclude the large crowds overflowing to the sides, which some have estimated included hundreds of thousands of people.[54][55] AirPhotoLive.com based its estimation on photos taken at noon which is when they thought the rally was at its peak.[56]
The New York Post reported "an overflow crowd of 300,000 people",[57], while The New York Times reported the crowd total to be closer to 300,000.[58]
According to The Washington Post, "The crowd stretch(ed) densely back to the World War II Memorial, spilling onto the hill at the Washington Monument and onto the fields north and south of the reflecting pool. The Post even noted that those sitting near the Washington Monument were too far away to clearly hear the speakers.[59]
A preliminary Associated Press article put the total at "tens of thousands".[60]
Beck commented on the media's reporting of attendance at the rally, saying, "I have just gotten word from the media that there are over a thousand people here today." He continued, "The reflecting pool holds about 200,000 people. This field back here holds about 250–300,000 people. They are not only full here, they're full in that field, they're full behind me, and they are now across the street approaching the Washington Monument!"[61] He later said he "heard the crowd was between 300,000 and 500,000", "if that's coming from the media, God only knows."[38] When a helicopter flew over the rally when he was speaking, Beck remarked, "It must be a big crowd, because they violated the airspace to get a shot of it."[62] Beck's website later posted two aerial photographs of the event, showing the crowd extending well towards the World War II Memorial and substantial crowds on the sides.[63]
In an interview by Chris Wallace on Fox News Sunday the day after, Beck said, "I can tell you that it was in the hundreds of thousands...Let's be on the low end, 300,000, and maybe as high as 650,000."[64]
Rep. Michele Bachmann, a Republican who held her own event shortly after Beck's rally, said "We're not going to let anyone get away with saying there were less than a million here today - because we were witnesses."[65]
A Time Magazine article highlights the contention between the crowd numbers, saying "No one seems to know".
Glenn Beck's controversial 'Restoring Honor' rally on Saturday was bound to spark debate among media outlets. First order of contention: How many people were actually there? This isn't the first time that rally attendance estimates have caused debate--though it's note-worthy that if more than 250, 000 people attended, the crowd would have exceeded the one present for King's speech.[66]
See also
References
- ^ The Brothers Koch: Rich, Political And Playing To Win investigative reporting by Jane Mayer, article and full audio report (27:48) by Fresh Air at NPR, based on Mayer's Koch Brothers Cover Story for The New Yorker, August 26, 2010
- ^ a b c d e f Glenn Beck's 'Restoring Honor' Rally Draws Tea Party Activists by Huma Khan, ABC News, August 27, 2010
- ^ Glenn Beck Comes To D.C., Controversy Follows by Liz Halloran, NPR, August 27, 2010
- ^ Glenn Beck, Sarah Palin call for restoring honor at rally
- ^ Meet MLK's Glenn Beck-loving Niece: Pro-Life, Anti-Gay Alveda King talks to Salon about her Uncle, Beliefs and Planned Speech at Saturday's Big Rally interview by Daniel Denvir, Salon magazine, August 27, 2010
- ^ Dolak, Kevin (August 28, 2010). "Alveda King Speaks at Glenn Beck's DC Rally: Pro-Life Advocate Spoke on Anniversary of Her Uncle's "I Have A Dream" Speech". ABCNews.Go.com.
- ^ Allahpundit (November 21, 2009). "Glenn Beck: "I am developing a 100 year plan"".
- ^ Good, Chris (August 28, 2010). "Glenn Beck Comes to Town". TheAtlantic.com.
- ^ Glenn Beck's Decision To Scratch Plan To Promote His Book May Have Been Wise by Jason Linkins, The Huffington Post, August 27, 2010
- ^ Farhi, Paul (August 28, 2010). "Networks take different paths in covering Glenn Beck 'Restoring Honor' rally". Washington Post.
- ^ Gardner, Amy (August 26, 2010). "Beck rally will be a measure of 'tea party' strength". Washington Post.
- ^ Elliott, Philip (August 27, 2010). "Beck rally on anniversary of King's 'Dream' speech". Associated Press.
- ^ Keefe, Bob; Schneider, Craig (August 27, 2010). "Conservatively speaking, thousands will crowd the National Mall". Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
- ^ Beck/Palin rally permit approved
- ^ Khan, Huma (August 27, 2010). "Glenn Beck's Non Political Rally Turns Political". ABCNews.Go.com.
- ^ http://www.abc2news.com/dpp/news/national/king-relative-to-take-part-in-glenn-beck-rally
- ^ La Russa, Pujols will appear at Washington rally
- ^ Glenn Beck rally: Albert Pujols, Tony La Russa scheduled to appear
- ^ a b Glenn Beck's Rally Panned by Civil Rights Leaders, Kicks Off Tea Party Rallies by Huma Khan, ABC News, August 20, 2010
- ^ (Politico)
- ^ Black Leaders Criticize Beck For Holding Rally On King Anniversary by The Wall Street Journal, August 26, 2010
- ^ a b c Still Striving for MLK's Dream in the 21st Century by Martin Luther King III, The Washington Post, August 25, 2010
- ^ Olbermann Worries About Glenn Beck's Sanity: 'Is He OK?' by Jack Mirkinson, The Huffington Post, August 26, 2010
- ^ Stewart RIPS Glenn Beck's Civil Rights Rally: "I Have A Scheme" by Katla McGlynn, The Huffington Post, August 27, 2010
- ^ Colbert: Glenn Beck's Rally Has Nothing To Do With Dr. King by Katla McGlynn, The Huffington Post, August 27, 2010
- ^ Glenn Beck Rally Will Be Like Moon Landing, Wright Brothers, & Rosa Parks All Rolled Into One Massive Orgasm Of American History - article & video by The Huffington Post
- ^ No, Glenn Beck Is Not a Civil Rights Icon by John Nichols, The Nation, August 28, 2010
- ^ Restoring Honor Rally Related Video Clips by Media Matters for America
- ^ Hey, Glenn Beck, I was at the March on Washington by A.J. Calhoun, Salon magazine, August 26, 2010
- ^ Glenn Beck Kennedy Center video
- ^ Allen, Mike (August 28, 2010). "Beck Promises "The Great Awakening...the End of Darkness"". Politico.com.
- ^ Memoli, Michael A.; Geiger, Kim (August 28, 2010). "Glenn Beck rally underway at Lincoln Memorial". Los Angeles Times.
- ^ Boyle, Matthew (August 28, 2010). "Glenn Beck's 'Divine Destiny' event focuses on faith". Daily Caller.
- ^ Young, Eric (August 7, 2010). "Evangelical Megachurch Pastor Defends Support for Glenn Beck". Christian Post.
- ^ Gilgoff, Dan (August 27, 2010). "Some evangelicals on defensive over partnering with Glenn Beck, a Mormon". Religion.Blogs.CNN.com.
- ^ Vu, Michelle (October 26, 2007). "Mormonism: The 4th Abrahamic Religion?". Christian Post.
- ^ Gilgoff, Dan (August 28, 2010). "At rally, Beck positions himself as new leader for Christian conservatives". CNN Belief Blog.
- ^ a b Hohmann, James (August 28, 2010). "Glenn Beck calls for national revival". POLITICO. Retrieved August 28, 2010.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Beck: U.S. Has 'Wandered In Darkness' Too Long by NPR, August 28, 2010
- ^ a b The Foundation Behind Glenn Beck's Million-Dollar Rally by Kate Pickert, Time magazine, August 26, 2010
- ^ Washington rally: Opposite crowds invoke King by Craig Schneider and Bob Keefe, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, August 29, 2010
- ^ Alveda King Speaks at Glenn Beck's DC Rally (ABC News)
- ^ Rucker, Philip (August 28, 2010). "Sarah Palin takes 'Restoring Honor' Stage". Washington Post.
- ^ a b "Transcript captions – "Restoring Honor" Rally: Glenn Beck". CSPAN Video Library. August 28, 2010.
- ^ Nagesh, Gautham (August 28, 2010). "Beck says Americans must look to God for direction". 02:31:46.}}
- ^ "Turnout Strong as Beck Rallies Americans to Restore 'Honor' to the Nation". FoxNews.com. August 28, 2010.
- ^ Nagesh, Gautham (August 28, 2010). "Beck says Americans must look to God for direction". 02:31:46.
- ^ Beck rejects running with Palin (Politico
- ^ NBC Nightly News -- "Love of country, God reigns at Beck's rally
- ^ Dueling D.C. rallies mark King speech anniversary by MSNBC
- ^ Glenn Beck Appeals to 'Restore' the U.S., Al Sharpton Commemorates Martin Luther King by ABC News
- ^ Turnout Strong as Beck Rallies Americans to Restore 'Honor' to the Nation by Fox News
- ^ Glenn Beck Rally Attracts Estimated 87,000
- ^ Beck and call by New York Post
- ^ At Lincoln Memorial, a Call for Religious Rebirth by New York Times
- ^ Glenn Beck Rally Attracts Estimated 87,000
- ^ Beck and call by New York Post
- ^ At Lincoln Memorial, a Call for Religious Rebirth by New York Times
- ^ Gardner, Amy (August 28, 2010). "Live Coverage: Beck's 'Restoring Honor' Rally". Washington Post.
- ^ Wong, Scott (August 28, 2010). "Glenn Beck rally drew a crowd. But how big?". POLITICO. Retrieved August 28, 2010.
- ^ CSPAN video, remark at 1:15
- ^ Glenn Beck’s Rallying Cry To America: “One Man Can Change The World”
- ^ Photos published by GlennBeck.com
- ^ Fox News Sunday 8/29, statement at 4:20
- ^ Gardner, Amy (August 29, 2010). "Beck, Palin tell thousands to 'restore America'". Washington Post. Retrieved August 29, 2010.
- ^ How Many People Attended Glenn Beck's Rally? No One Seems to Know
External links
- Official
- Restoring Honor Rally Website
- Restoring Honor FAQ for Media
- Fan Page at Facebook
- Video Channel at Youtube
- Images
- Restoring Honor rally - moving slideshow by Flickr
- Glenn Beck Rally has People Seeing Red - clickable photos by NPR
- Glenn Beck 'Restoring Honor' Rally Draws Thousands - slideshow by The Washington Post