It was a sea of pink pussycat hats and handmade signs as far as the eye could see during last month’s Women’s March, worn and carried by women of all ages, races, backgrounds, and places. The messages were mostly positive, some funny, others lewd – but they all decried passion and a compelling need to be heard.
Signs seen filling the March on Jan. 21 clamored that Women’s Rights Are Human Rights, I Will Not Go Quietly Back To The 1950’s, Nasty Women Fight For Their Rights, This Pussy Grabs Back, Black Lives Matter, Dump Trump How The Hell Did This Happen, My Body My Choice, The Future Is Still Female, #Sisters Of The North (from Canada), I Can’t Believe I Still Have To Protest This S…!, Our Rights Aren’t Up For Grabs And Neither Are We, Peace Love Respect, We Outnumber Them Resist!, Dissent Is Patriotic, Purse Power We Have It Let’s Use It, and a crime-scene style yellow tape with black letters F… Off.
There were even pro-life protesters holding up anti-choice signs at a busy intersection on the March’s path. The marchers booed them loudly as they passed by, but left them alone to protest in peace. A couple of my favorite signs were carried by men: Because I Have a Daughter, Wife, Sister, and Man Marches For Wife, Sister, Daughter.
They said it all for me!
I flew to Washington, with friends on the Thursday just before the event, using airfare and hotel reservations bought months ago, meant for “another” inauguration. An important part of living in a democracy is accepting that sometimes we win elections, and sometimes we don’t. And no matter who wins, there is a peaceful transition of power and the Republic continues within the framework of our Constitution as do the laws meant to protect our rights and freedoms.
We marched because many of us feel that our rights are being threatened. Upwards of one million of us marched in D.C. on Saturday with no reported incidents of violence, and not a single arrest. A couple million more also marched in cities throughout the U.S. and worldwide, including in Downtown Miami.
It reminded me of pro-ERA marches from the early 70’s, but larger. There were fiery speeches by celebrities Ashley Judd, Madonna, America Ferrera, and lifelong feminist Gloria Steinem to name a few. Our message is that we want to be respected, we want our rights upheld, we want equality in everything and for the LGBTQ, we want control of our bodies and access to affordable healthcare, we want all religions respected, we want worker’s rights upheld, we want a clean environment and to stop climate change, and we want good public education and immigration reform. Nothing extraordinary, nothing we have not said or fought for before.
We marched for ourselves and future generations to remind the new president that women will not be silent, we will not be demeaned, and we will not cede our rights. I hope he heard us loud and clear, because we have once again awakened and we will not go away.
