This January, on the one year anniversary of President Donald Trump’s inauguration, thousands of people congregated in Raleigh’s Halifax Mall to participate in the second annual Women’s March. Participants in the rally were “feminists” of all ages, races, genders and backgrounds. The mission statement of the Women’s March is to “harness the political power of diverse women and their communities to create transformative social change.”
The most notable Women’s Marches in North Carolina were held in Charlotte, Raleigh, Winston-Salem, Asheville and Hillsborough. However, this was not just a local phenomenon. Other marches also occurred in New York, Chicago, LA, Washington, Philadelphia and hundreds of other cities all around the country and world.
Notable celebrities who attended include: Viola Davis, Natalie Portman, Lin-Manuel Miranda, Mila Kunis, James Franco, Whoopi Goldberg and Emma Watson.
This year, the Women’s March had an added focus on the increasingly prevalent #MeToo movement; a movement aiming to end sexual violence and support survivors. In addition, since the marches also occurred shortly before the midterm elections, many participants hoped that their advocacy would contribute to democratic success at polling places.
The Women’s March website describes themselves as “committed to dismantling systems of oppression through nonviolent resistance and building inclusive structures guided by self-determination, dignity and respect.”
These goals are admirable and well deserving of the massive support they have earned. We should all be joining in the movement in order to support the women in our lives.
Participating in rallies for causes like the Women’s March provide a great way to promote activism. However, we need to make sure that showing up, making cute signs and posting artsy pictures on social media is not all we are doing for the cause.
The goal of every protest and rally is positive change. The Women’s March aims to end violence, secure reproductive rights, promote environmental justice and guarantee LGBTQIA, workers, civil, disability and immigrant rights.
Marching in a rally is a fantastic start to spreading awareness, but in order to implement real change we have to take it a step further. Good ways to help create positive change are to keep yourself and your peers informed, contact elected officials and to use your vote wisely.
The Women’s March has proved to be an honorable event that sparked more conversation about equality for women and destroying oppression. Now, the real challenge is going to be keeping that momentum going and achieving real, tangible change for good.
