Sheryl Huggins Salomon is senior editor-at-large of The Root and a Brooklyn, N.Y.-based editorial consultant. Follow her on Twitter.
Thousands pledged allegiance to the flag during the One Nation Working Together rally. The gathering in Washington, D.C., was organized by the NAACP, National Council of La Raza, AFL-CIO and other civil rights and labor groups.
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MSNBC's Ed Schultz was an emcee of the rally. According to The Washington Post, he said of the Tea Party activists, "They talk about the Constitution but they don't want to live by it. … They talk about the forefathers, but they practice discrimination. They want to change this country."
Flag-waving isn't just for Tea Partiers.
A rally participant used binoculars to watch speakers and performers such as NAACP President Benjamin Jealous, the Rev. Al Sharpton, activist Van Jones, actors Wendell Pierce and Harry Belafonte, and a scheduled performance by George Clinton singing — wait for it — "One Nation Under a Groove."
"Down with war, up with jobs" was the message some of the ralliers wanted to send.
Uncle Sam walked tall on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial.
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