Nysheva - Starr met me at about 10:30 am. Herald Square. Police barriers everywhere controlling the crowds for the parade.
We stood at 33rd and 7th with signs: Racism - Fear of the Other, Ramarley / Sean / Amadou / Trayvon / Michael / Akai: Our Brothers, and Stand with Us. And two by two people joined us. Soon there were a dozen and then more standing in a row and often people stood behind us.
There was a whole family, Pakistani or possibly Afghans, with their kids. The father thanked us and said it was only right. Many people acknowledged the signs with smiles, nods, thumbs up, and some came over and asked questions - some wanted to hold the signs. Some were getting their pictures taken. Starr started encouraging people to join us. She improvised a few long sections about involvement, justice, being American, acceptance, "two hands up is the universal sign of I surrender so why the killing?"
We were there for a couple hours and a group of 30 or 40 marching up 7th joined us - we got swallowed up and headed towards 6th and then in a roundabout way to Times Square - this all felt more like Occupy. Larger group. More active but not welcoming or available to people. It was confrontational in volume and message as though the message was for those with power.
Standing in a small group and letting people come to us feels better to me. It did on Tuesday too. It's not just the smallness it's that I know that dozens of people - more, many more, were engaged for a moment - they made sure to let their opinion be known to us, whether it was "thanks" or "justice was done" (that from one guy who kept walking). When I left I wanted to gather the signs for the next time. People I didn't know were holding them. They were staying to protest in Times Square so I left the signs with them.