The Women's March on Washington was absolutely one of the most inspiring things I have ever been a part of. To be physically present with over 500,000 individuals from all walks of life, to march side by side with indigenous, black, white, Latinx, rich, poor, straight, lgbtq, individuals - a complete spectrum of ages, genders and religious affiliations - was an honor and a privilege.
I went in to the march wanting to be a part of something bigger than myself. I was inspired by the mission put forth by the march leaders. An intersectional feminism...one that fights for the rights of ALL women..A common goal of defending the rights of the most marginalized members of our society...The idea of coming together to fight for all of the people our new "president" has slandered, insulted and threatened...To resist his administration and it's racist, xenophobic, homophobic, non-scientific alternative reality...To fight for mother Earth. I knew that without a doubt, I needed to be a part of the resistance - and I was. I was one of the MILLIONS of participants who marched worldwide "on the right side of history" because they recognize the travesty that is occurring in our country right now.
Once I got there and the speeches began, I was immediately inspired by every woman on that stage.
Every single presenter mentioned the need to come together and help to fight each other's battles. Our country has been stolen from indigenous peoples, built on the backs of slaves and populated by immigrants from all over the world and unfortunately our government has always been much better at apologizing for past atrocities than not allowing them to happen in the first place. Everyday people are still vilified, wrongfully detained and institutionally discriminated against and we must demand better than that. The speakers put into words all of the feelings I have never been able to express so eloquently.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SpdgPTUGFQw
Make no mistake, I am well aware that as a white woman, I am privileged to not have to overcome much friction on my daily walk towards progress. As a bisexual woman married to a straight male, I do not have to defend my sexuality on a daily basis because everyone assumes I'm straight. I do not have to worry about the future legality of my marriage because the love between a man and a woman has never been deemed unnatural or threatened by the federal government. I have never known what it feels like to be discriminated against because of the color of my skin or because of the language my family speaks. I have never been asked to put "my issues" on hold while the issues of the majority were dealt with first. Being at this march reinforced my belief that if any of us is being held back, we all are.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TTB-m2NxWzA
I was there to listen, to learn, to be inspired by women who have been fighting these battles since before I was born. Women who are fighting battles I will never have to fight myself. Even now, days later, I am still in awe of the strength of the women I encountered there. The mothers of Trayvon Martin and Eric Garner cried their son's names on stage while 500,000 of us screamed back "say their names." A six-year-old girl from an undocumented family pleaded with the crowd to make a "chain of love" to protect families from being torn apart.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qPa464CEbuE
Countless activists who have dedicated their lives to fighting for the people whose voices are so often silenced made me so proud to be a woman. I am inspired. I am ready to fight. I will not sit quietly and watch everything beautiful about our country be torn apart. I will not be silent when an administration threatens the reproductive rights of women around the world. I will not "give a chance" to an arrogant demagogue who dares to openly vilify Muslims and Mexicans, to brag about sexually assaulting women and to pit us against each other. I will not quietly allow people to "express their opinions" without challenge when those opinions only serve to further harm the oppressed and the struggling.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ffb_5X59_DA
We have such a long way to go, but I am so grateful for the experience I had this weekend. I was able to march with some of the most inspiring women in my family - from North Carolina to Canada - and stood shoulder to shoulder with hundreds of thousands of individuals who are not willing to sit idly by while a new regime of ignorance takes over our government. Leaving the march and seeing on the news that worldwide we were a force of over 5 million people on all seven continents marching in solidarity was unbelievable! We are a force to be reckoned with and we will not back down. This is not the time for complacence. "Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere" and we must not allow it.
http://nytlive.nytimes.com/womenintheworld/2017/01/23/i-cant-keep-quiet-im-a-one-woman-riot-song-goes-insanely-viral/
