Day Ten a wet one on March for Rights, Respect and Fair Food...
Marchers' spirits not dampened
in the least!

Even though Florida's storied rainy season is still two months away, we knew fifteen days without rain was a lot to ask for. And, indeed, Day Ten proved our decision to pack the ponchos to be a judicious one!

The marchers started the day under a fairly heavy rain, which soon turned to a steady drizzle, and finally to an overcast sky that gave way to sun in the late afternoon. [Forecast for those planning to join us in the coming days: With the rain safely behind us, the remaining days of the march appear to be pretty much perfect -- sunny and cool, the result of a cold front announced by today's downpour.]

But the wet weather didn't turn the marchers back on their path to Lakeland one bit, as they did everything they usually do on a sunny day -- enjoyed long talks and learned from each other, laughed and joked with drivers and passersby, and sang, danced, and waved flags and banners as they made their way another 15 miles today from Ruskin to Riverview.

When the sun finally broke through the clouds in the late afternoon it was cause for celebration, not for having survived the hardships of a wet day, as they were not many nor deeply felt, but because it meant that we were one day closer to our goal of arriving in Lakeland and making our voices heard in Publix's hometown.

The big rally in Lakeland is now only five days away, and as we continue to approach the culmination of the march, we will be featuring marchers from various ally sectors sharing their thoughts in short videos about why they are marching, and why you should join us in Lakeland, too, this March 17th.

We begin today with three artists who are part of the march speaking on why they as artists found it necessary to break out of their daily lives and do their part for farmworker justice. Here below is the video, and be sure to check back tomorrow for a photo and video report from tomorrow's huge 15.5 mile march through Tampa's famous Ybor City:

Meanwhile, in other march news, longtime CIW action documentarian, JJ Tiziou, arrived yesterday to the march and started shooting pictures the second he landed. Here is a link to his first gallery from the march (and a sneak preview below), with much more to come in the days ahead!