Washington D.C. Los Angeles. New York City. Boston. Seattle. Madison. Park City. Columbia. Chicago. These were only some of the American cities that participated in the Women's March. Women's Marches happened Saturday in every continent all over the world (yes, even Antarctica). It is estimated that 5 million people showed up for the Women's March. In Chicago where I attended the women's march, it is estimated that 250,000 showed up, but it was estimated that only 50,000 would attend.
The reason for the Women's March has gotten truly lost in all of the dramatics of the event, and confused with the few riots that occurred the previous day during President Donald Trump's inauguration. According to the official Women's March Chicago website, womens121marchonchicago.com, "Women’s rights are human rights, which together we must PROTECT and further. Through our march, we send a message to our new administration and to the world that we seek to PROTECT our civil liberties and rights. We are here to ACTIVATE. Fairness, justice, and equality require rigorous defense and promotion, and are not yet won. We recognize lack of fairness, justice, and equality are suffered by some much more than others. We recognize the intersectionality of disadvantage and oppression. We need to work until fairness, justice, and equality are reality in all parts of society. With this march, we are committed to continue/begin positive, peaceful ACTION in our lives and communities to move toward this goal, and to support others who do as well."
Popular to contrary dismay, the marchers were not just angry, screaming, feminists with signs screaming about how they wanted to get abortions. The marchers consisted of men and women alike. Men and women of every age. Men and women of every ethnicity, race, religion, and sexual orientation. Speakers also did not only consist of women from solely "feminist" movements, but also from other movements such as LGBTQ, Black Lives Matter, Rainbow, PUSH, and RISE. A school teacher, healthcare specialists, alderman's, mothers, and more discussed issues such as gun violence, abortion, immigration, minimum wage, religion, healthcare and more.
The march did not quite go as planned. The crowd was only expected to be 50,000 people but over 250,000 showed up for the events. The rally leaders announced that the march was cancelled and they would continue the rally. But, there were thousands of marchers who did not even go to the rally, so the march wasn't truly cancelled because thousands still marched down Jackson. Slow moving, due to the loads of traffic coming from Michigan Avenue. But, somehow the march went on and it went as peacefully and wonderfully as planned.
Laura Fry is 56 years old, married, and has two adult boys. One with autism, and one who has been in remission from heroin use disorder. She grew up on the south side of the city with a very non-judgemental mother who taught her love and compassion for all people, and a father who beat and molested her. Fry has been through years of mental health issues, PTSD, rape, abuse, but still is grateful, and blessed. She describes herself as always feeling drawn to those considered weak, or undesirable. After years of nursing, she am currently the Director of Operations for Live4Lali, an addiction advocacy non profit. "I marched yesterday for all the marginalized. The undocumented, the LGBTQ community, the women of color, religious freedom - or lack thereof, I marched and will continue to fight for all women to maintain control over their own bodies, I marched with the hope that maybe, someday, we truly will have a country that lives by the constitution, I marched for freedom and equality — simply put," said Fry.
The march was not a direct "protest" against the president. The march (which is a first amendment right to peacefully assemble, which it was in every sense) was to let the government know that the ways the president has previously spoken about women and rights he and the house has discussed possibly taking away does not define the people he is representing. I marched for equality. Not just equality for women, but equality for ALL. I did not march because I hate my country or do not support it. I marched because I am watching this country, my beloved country, OUR beloved country turn into something that I used to read about in my history books. I marched because I am a woman and I want to keep the rights I have and continue to improve the rights I have. I marched for my future children. I marched for my nieces. I marched for climate change. I marched for our public school children. I marched for the disabled. This is our America. We the people ARE America.
I marched for young boys and girls that get compared to each other. I marched because boys get told that they can't cry or they will be labeled a girl. I marched because young girls are told they cannot show their shoulders in school because they might distract the boys. I march because rape is not taken seriously on college campus' and women who are raped are asked questions like "what were you wearing", "how much did you drink", and "why were you by yourself". I marched because "boys will be boys" is still a viable reason the talk badly about women or treat them badly. I marched because women and men are still not equal. I marched because women are judged for working and men are ridiculed for being stay at home dads. I marched for all rights, men, women, minorities, religions, etc. I marched because I want to see change in my country and I hope the President and his people recognize that we will not stop until our rights are achieved and kept.
Five million people around the world marched in the Women's March Saturday. Five million people and not a single arrest. These women and men were moved to march for many different reasons and I implore you to ask those you know why they marched. Ask them what they are looking for in marching, what they expected to get out of it. "Spewing hatred for women who are exercising their First Amendment Rights peacefully and with conviction, simply because you don't agree, makes you a pretty ugly person. Knock it off. There's room for all of us, and if we try to understand each other instead of attacking each other, we might actually stand a chance at becoming a better society," Fry said about the opposition to the women's march.
