As we came around the corner and pulled up to a dead end at the south side of the downtown mall a pretty poignant song blared out from a Toyota Camry that was unloading Sculptures for the daily Art Fair. "You say you want a revolution, well you know…we all want to change the world." The quiet, almost somber assembly of the Tibetan community and local supporters in the center of the outdoor mall ran counter to what was soon to follow. By the time the CBS cameraman had extended the legs of his tripod, the boisterous proclamations of China's immediate withdrawal from Tibet had red-lined the Radio Consultant's portable recorder, and the city of Charlottesville was forced from its quiet early morning rituals, it was clear that a revolution is exactly what Tibetans want.

As the cameras and tape recorders rolled Khempo Ngawang Dorje, a local Tibetan Monk, led the group in a solemn prayer, and kicked off Tibet's very own March on Washington. Following in the footsteps of Mahatma Gandhi and other non-violent Civil Rights leaders such as Dr Martin Luther King Jr, and A. Philip Randolph who organized the famous 1964 March on Washington, the International Tibet Independence Movement once again seeks to achieve its ultimate goal of Tibetan Independence by "any peaceful means necessary."

Modern history is littered with examples of non-violent movements proving successful in their mission of alleviating unjust hardship for people throughout the world. Non-violent movements brought down Apartheid in South Africa; pressed the American government to enforce constitutional amendments providing ALL United States citizens, regardless of color, with their deserved civil rights; and in the case of Tibet, International pressure through non-violent means has succeeded in securing the release of many political prisoners. A perfect example of such a success is Ngawang Choephel, who had been charged with espionage and incarcerated for six years for traveling through his native Tibet on a Fulbright Scholarship to document monastic life. Another is the commution of Tenzin Delek Rinpoche's bogus death sentence to life in prison last year, but there is much more work to do. At current all Tibetans are essentially under house arrest as no one is allowed to do pilgrimage to their chosen monasteries in the countryside to celebrate Saga Dawa, a fifteen day festival celebrating the birth, life, enlightenment, teachings, and death of the Buddha.

Actions such as these successes and those mirroring ITIM's March to Washington are virtually impossible inside Tibet, and as a result, it has becomes the obligation of Tibetans and their supporters inside Nepal, India, and most especially in America, to speak for the six million who cannot. And, so in the infamous words of the Montgomery, Alabama Bus Boycott of 1954-55:

"We are not walking we are Marching!!!"