Women’s March On Washington
SUSAN CLOKE
January 21, 2017
“This is What Democracy Looks Like” chanted the hundreds of thousands of women I marched with on Saturday, January 21 in Washington DC.
We were talking about ourselves; women, men, all colors, all ages, people of all religions, from all countries, of all sexual identities.
It was the day after the inauguration of Donald Trump as President of the U.S. and women were reeling from the election of a person with his misogynistic and racist view of the world.
But make no mistake. The March, which ended in front of the White House, was not about Trump. It was about the empathic and compassionate values of democracy. Women, and the many men who were at the March, carried signs they had made calling for human rights, health care, education and protection of the environment.
Signs were the manifesto of the March.
With self-deprecating humor and real defiance hundreds of thousands of marchers wore hand knitted pink pussy hats.
“P**** Grabs Back,” said signs made in outraged response to Trump’s, on tape, self-admitted groping assaults on women’s genitals.
Women are mightily offended by Donald Trump, by his assumption that women are fair game for his unwanted advances, his rating system and his self-admitted sexual assaults.
Offense becomes defiance at the threat of taking away women’s rights to control their own bodies. “My Body, My Rights.”
Signs spoke to issues and values: Black Lives Matter, Voter Suppression, Russian influence on the U.S. election, Environmental Protection, Climate Change, Standing Rock, Public Education, Criminal Justice, Bridges Not Walls.
The serious messages of the signs mixed with the joyful spirit of the crowd. Marchers were wonderfully patient and kind. There were too many people to be able to reach the stage on the Mall and hear the speakers and singers. The crowd overflowed the Mall, it was too big for the designated March route. Calmly taking to adjacent streets, people found their own way to the White House.
The point of the March was made and everyone knew it. This march took people past election shock and into action. People were going to stand up for democracy, for values of equality and inclusivity, for women’s rights, for the safety of Americans and human rights, for a worldwide expression of values of empathy and compassion.
“This is What Democracy Looks Like” was the constant refrain of the crowd of mostly women, women of all colors, ages, and sexual identities. And they mean to stay the course.
Lawmakers in Congress should know we have our eyes on this Congress, its votes and its leadership.
Americans, of all races, religions, countries of origin and sexual identity will stand up for themselves and for each other.
The March was an organizing triumph. Teresa Shook, a 60+ year old grandmother from Hawaii, put up a Facebook Page on November 9, the day after Trump was elected, calling for women to march. Within a day thousands of women had responded.
On January 21, the day after the inauguration, women marched in all fifty states. Crowd estimates available as of today’s date: DC. 500,000+, NYC 400,000+, Chicago 250,000+, Los Angeles 750,000+, Boston 175,000+, Montpelier 15,000+.
Women marched in “Sister Marches” in London, Paris, Amsterdam, Rome, Berlin, Nairobi, Cape Town and Sydney and more.
The Marchers know our democracy is strong. Our rule of law is strong. Our history is one of facing and overcoming our problems. We are not a perfect country but we are a country whose Constitution and Laws protect us as we work to peacefully make changes to law and culture.
Marchers are defiant and determined. They are afraid of what Trump can do with the power of the Presidency behind him. While no knows what will come. They are committed to the fight. They are the new democratic resistance.
