On Jan. 21—the day after the inauguration of President Donald Trump—women and their allies came together in cities across the country to march in support of a plethora of causes. From Washington D.C. to Chillicothe, OH, the Capital community played their part.
Personally, I marched for my young nieces, in hope that one day, they won’t worry if they’ll make the same amount of money as their male counterparts—they’ll know they will.
As a white cis man, I was marching to stand in solidarity with the oppr
essed, people of color, people of different faiths, minority groups, and victims of sexual assault, taking a firm stance for equality, liberty, and justice for all.
As a group, we marched because, in the words of Hillary Clinton, abortion should be “safe, legal, and rare,” and we marched for a limited government that cannot dictate a person’s matrimonial or medical life.
What struck me most about these marches, and the marchers, was their intersectionality. It’s safe to say that very few people were representing just one issue or viewpoint.
I wore my Purple Power, LGBTQ Pride, and Black Lives Matter attire, and I saw so many other others donning attire and signs for LGBTQIA rights, women’s rights, protecting our environment, Black and Brown Lives Matter, and so many more social movements—even in Chillicothe, Ohio!
While such intersectionality was not unique to these marches, it certainly was powerful. Everyone from A-list celebrities to struggling factory workers marched in unity.
Though th
e political world may produce some dank memes, we cannot sit idly behind our phones. We cannot get fired up over the latest attack on a minority group and then put out that fire with memes and Netflix.
We need to ask questions of our representatives and of the views that have been instilled in us over the last 20-odd years. We need to think about those answers and if they suffice.
It takes just a few minutes to call a Congressional representative in his or her Capitol Hill office at 202-225-3121.
As educated people, we need to lead others to the facts—not alternative facts, but actual facts, evidence, and things that are real.
While these specific women’s marches may be over, they are just the beginning of a much longer marathon. We who believe in freedom cannot rest. Lace up.
