On Sunday June 13, 2010, at 2 PM, Responsible for Equality And Liberty (R.E.A.L.) invites Washingtonians to a public event to remember the June 10, 2009 attack on the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum and to remember the loss of Stephen Tyrone Johns.  Choose love, not hate.

The attack by white supremacist and Holocaust denier James Von Brunn on the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum on June 10, 2009, was based on hate.  We will urge our fellow Americans to Choose Love, Not Hate.  We will urge our fellow Americans to say “Never Again” to such hate.

(Flier for distribution: Microsoft Word format flier 1, Adobe Acrobat format flier 1, Word format flier 2, Adobe Acrobat format flier 2).

We will meet at the Freedom Plaza in Washington DC, near where Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. worked on his speech “I Have a Dream,” and will stand united in our diverse religions, ethnicity, and races.  We will stand united for equality.  We will also say “Never Again” to hate.

We will remember black security guard Stephen Tyrone Johns who was shot to death on June 10, 2009 while on duty defending a museum that stands in remembrance to the Holocaust.  We vow that his death will not be in vain, but that such sacrifices will remind us of the need to be ever-vigilant and defiant against the forces of hate that seek to spread in Washington DC and throughout America.

As those who promote hate seek to create ever-increasing numbers of hate groups in America, our message to them is that America will never retreat on hate.  But we don’t answer hate with hate. Instead of an upraised fist, we offer outstretched hands and hearts to those who do hate, to urge them to release the burden of hate from their hearts, and join us in defending the universal human rights and dignity of all people.

We urge all – Choose Love, Not Hate.  Love Wins.

We also urge all to make a gift to the USHMM Stephen Tyrone Johns Summer Youth Leadership Program Endowment Fund.

Rally Logistics:

— Date: Sunday, June 13, 2010

— Time: 2 to 4 PM Eastern Daylight Savings Time

— Location: Freedom Plaza, Washington DC, 20004 – on Pennsylvania Avenue NW between 13th and 14th Streets NW

— Contact: Jeffrey Imm, info@realcourage.org, 301-613-8789

The Freedom Plaza in Washington DC is named in honor of Martin Luther King, Jr., who worked on his “I Have a Dream” speech in the nearby Willard Hotel. In 1988, a time capsule containing a Bible, a robe, and other relics of King’s was planted at the site.

Directions:

— Map Showing Location of Freedom Plaza in Washington DC

— Street Level Photographic View of Freedom Plaza Area

— Washington DC Metro Subway Stop: Metro Center (Central Station – for Red, Blue, Orange Lines)

— Washington DC Metro Subway Planner Tool

Walking Directions for Metro Center Subway:

— Metro Center Metro Station to Pennsylvania Ave NW & 14th St NW:

1. Exit station through 13TH ST NW & G ST NW entrance.

2. Walk approx. 1 block S on 13th St NW.

3. Turn right on Pennsylvania Ave NW.

4. Walk approx. 1 block W on Pennsylvania Ave NW.

— Driving Directions (see end of posting for Driving Directions to National Theater)

— Parking lots: the nearby National Theater reports the following parking lot areas include:

— PMI

— 1220 E Street, NW – Enter on E Street between 12th and 13th Streets

— 424 11th Street, NW

— 1325 G Street, NW – Enter on G Street between 13th and 14th Streets

— QUICK PARK

— 1301 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW – Enter on 13th Street between E and F Streets

— Freedom Plaza is an open air plaza which is in front of The National Theater, whose address is 1321 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW, Washington, DC 20004.  Directions to Freedom Plaza are essentially not much different than going to the front of the National Theater (National Theater driving directions, street map of area, parking directions, Metro directions).

What if it Rains?

It is summer.  It rains, and hopefully it will not be raining at 2 PM.

But if we get caught in a thunderstorm, we will simply walk across the street under the cover of the National Theater marque, which is literally across the street at 1321 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW, Washington, DC 20004.

If we have to speak there on the street, then we can also do that as well.  The National Theater has no shows that day, and we have submitted an Assembly Notification for that location with the Washington DC police, as a fallback alternative.

The photo below shows Freedom Plaza on the RIGHT and the National Theater marquee on the LEFT.  We just walk across the street.

DRIVING DIRECTIONS TO NATIONAL THEATER:

FROM MARYLAND AND NORTH OF D.C.
ROUTE #I- 95 SOUTH
Pass Capital Beltway (I-495)
EXIT #22 – BALTIMORE-WASHINGTON PARKWAY
EXIT RIGHT TO ROUTE #50 WEST – TOWARD WASHINGTON
Becomes New York Avenue
Continue about 10 miles
LEFT ON 4TH STREET, NW
RIGHT on E STREET, NW
Parking lots on E Street between 12th and 13th, and on 12th or 13th between E and F Streets.
E Street becomes Pennsylvania Avenue at 13th. The National is at 1321 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW.

FROM SPRINGFIELD AND SOUTH OF D.C.
ROUTE #95 NORTH
EXIT ROUTE #395 NORTH
EXIT 12TH STREET, NW
Stay in Left Lane
LEFT ON E STREET, NW
Parking lots on E Street between 12th and 13th, and on 12th or 13th between E and F Streets.
E Street becomes Pennsylvania Avenue at 13th. The National is at 1321 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW.

FROM BALTIMORE AND EAST OF D.C.
BALTIMORE-WASHINGTON PARKWAY – ROUTE #295 TOWARD WASHINGTON
EXIT RIGHT TO ROUTE #50 WEST – TOWARD WASHINGTON
Becomes New York Avenue
Continue about 10 miles
LEFT ON 4TH STREET, NW
RIGHT on E STREET, NW
Parking lots on E Street between 12th and 13th, and on 12th or 13th between E and F Streets.
E Street becomes Pennsylvania Avenue at 13th. The National is at 1321 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW.

FROM SOUTH ARLINGTON AND ALEXANDRIA
RTE #1 NORTH OR #I-395 EAST
EXIT (Or from Route #I-395 Continue) ONTO 14TH STREET BRIDGE INTO DOWNTOWN D.C.
RIGHT ON PENNSYLVANIA AVE, NW
LEFT ON 13TH ST. NW ONE BLOCK TO E STREET, NW
Parking lots on E Street between 12th and 13th, and on 12th or 13th between E and F Streets.
E Street becomes Pennsylvania Avenue at 13th. The National is to the left at 1321 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW.

FROM ANNAPOLIS AND THE EASTERN SHORE AND ROUTE #50
ROUTE #50 WEST TOWARDS WASHINGTON
Becomes New York Avenue
Continue about 10 miles
LEFT ON 4TH STREET, NW
RIGHT on E STREET, NW
Parking lots on E Street between 12th and 13th, and on 12th and 13th between E and F Streets.
E Street becomes Pennsylvania Avenue at 13th. The National is at 1321 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW.

UPPER MARLBORO, ANDREWS AIR FORCE BASE AND SUITLAND AREA
SUITLAND PARKWAY WEST
EXIT ROUTE #395
Follow signs toward Maine Avenue and Richmond/Downtown exit)
EXIT 12TH STREET NW – DOWNTOWN
LEFT ON E STREET, NW
Parking lots on E Street between 12th and 13th, and on 12th or 13th between E and F Streets.
E Street becomes Pennsylvania Avenue at 13th. The National is at 1321 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW.

FROM FREDERICK, GAITHERSBURG, WEST OF D.C.
ROUTE #270 SOUTH
At the Beltway – Route #495, follow the signs to Northern Virginia
Cross Bridge.
EXIT RIGHT TO GEORGE WASHINGTON PARKWAY.
EXIT RIGHT AROUND TO THEODORE ROOSEVELT BRIDGE ON LEFT
STAY IN MIDDLE LANE TO CONSTITUTION AVENUE
Go 12 blocks.
LEFT ON 12TH STREET, NW
LEFT ON E STREET, NW
Parking lots on E Street between 12th and 13th, and on 12th or 13th between E and F Streets.
E Street becomes Pennsylvania Avenue at 13th. The National is at 1321 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW.

FROM UPPER D.C., CONNECTICUT AVENUE OR 16TH STREET
SOUTH TO H STREET, NW – OR FROM 16TH STREET SOUTH TO K STREET, NW
RIGHT ON 13TH STREET, NW
Parking lots on E Street between 12th and 13th, and on 12th or 13th between E and F Streets.
E Street becomes Pennsylvania Avenue at 13th. The National is to the left at 1321 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW.

FROM FAIRFAX, NORTHERN VIRGINIA SUBURBS, AND ROUTE #66
ROUTE #66 EAST TOWARD D.C.
CONTINUE STRAIGHT ONTO THEODORE ROOSEVELT BRIDGE
STAY IN MIDDLE LANE TO CONSTITUTION AVENUE
LEFT ON 12TH STREET, NW
Go two blocks
LEFT ON E STREET, NW
Parking lots on E Street between 12th and 13th, and on 12th or 13th between E and F Streets.
E Street becomes Pennsylvania Avenue at 13th. The National is at 1321 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW.

FROM GEORGETOWN and KEY BRIDGE
M STREET, NW, EAST
M STREET BECOMES PENNSYLVANIA AVENUE AS IT ANGLES OUT OF GEORGETOWN
LEFT ON 17TH STREET, NW
Go one block
RIGHT ON H STREET, NW
RIGHT ON 13TH STREET, NW
Parking lots on E Street between 12th and 13th, and on 12th or 13th between E and F Streets.
E Street becomes Pennsylvania Avenue at 13th. The National is to the left at 1321 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW.