It’s easy to dismiss yesterday’s Voting Rights March. Skeptics can point to the estimated number of participants (anywhere from 2,000 to 6,000, depending on who you ask) and claim that in a city of almost 600,000, that’s not very good turnout. They can point to the cause — a voting seat in the House of Representatives — and argue that the tough road it faces in the Senate and the veto it will likely receive from President Bush makes the whole endeavor something of a waste of time. They can even point to divisions that exist between voting rights activists to dismiss the whole cause.

But yesterday was about putting a face to injustice, and in that, District residents and their supporters did an admirable job. Thousands of marchers from every walk of life braved wind and rain to say, even if for a moment, that the status quo is not ok. They shouted, held up signs, started chants and heartily cheered when speakers made a point. Even though the march and rally were cut short due to unseasonably harsh weather, District residents made their point clear — waiting is no longer an excuse.

And so they marched. They listened to the impassioned words of D.C. Delegate Eleanor Holmes Norton, who led them in chants of “Free D.C.!” They heard from Mayor Adrian Fenty, Executive Director of DC Vote Ilir Zherka, D.C. Council Chair Vincent Gray, and perhaps most importantly — they heard from each other. Check out the images we compiled from contributions to the DCist Photo Pool to get a taste of what the Voting Rights March yesterday was all about.