by Gabby Lewis, News Editor
In a world divided by politics to the extreme and plagued by prejudice for one another, finding a way to unite people as one against a common threat; the Women’s March, however, managed to do just that. On January 21, 2018, men, women, and nonbinary people alike gathered in cities all over the world for the Women’s March, a peaceful protest for equal rights for everyone regardless of gender, race, or sexuality and against any forms of oppression.
The Women’s March, which also took place last year, is one of the largest worldwide peaceful protests with marches taking place in cities in a plethora of countries. The main march is held in Washington, DC, while those in other cities are known as Sister Marches. According to the March website, there were over 670 Marches in total and almost 5 million marchers with at least one March in every continent.
The organization’s mission is to harness the power of people from all different backgrounds to enforce social change and, essentially, help make the world evolve into a place where everyone is granted the same opportunities without prejudice as an obstacle. Their website explicitly states, “[The] Women’s March is committed to dismantling systems of oppression through nonviolent resistance and building inclusive structures guided by self-determination, dignity and respect.”
While their primary focus is ensuring equal rights for women, the March also fights for reproductive rights, LGBTQ+ rights, workers rights, disability rights, immigrant rights, and more. One of our teachers at River Hill, Ms. Storey, attended both the 2017 and 2018 Women’s March on Washington. She says this year’s March “grew in complexity” from last year’s by fighting for rights beyond just women but for everyone who faces injustice in society. Since the protest has multiple purposes, people can come March for virtually almost anything they believe in regarding the extension of equal rights, ensuring the protest as an inclusive one which unites everyone.
Again in comparison to last year’s March, Ms. Storey the one this year “was more [about] empowering women to find their voices… Certainly, there were anti-Trump comments there, but in terms of speakers, that was not the central focus.” Last year’s March was more of a reaction to Trump being elected into office, thus making the event lean towards being anti-government as well as a human rights’ protest.
Many of River Hill’s own students also attended the Women’s March on Washington, both boys and girls alike, and came back filled with hope for the future and passion for the cause. Sam Karkowski, a junior, attended the march with a group of his friends. He states, “I attended the March because I wanted to march for something I believe in. It was very powerful to me as all people of all different kinds gathered… for what they believed in, and also managed to have fun doing it.”
Luke Meininger, another junior who also attended the March with Sam, believed the March was “remarkably effective in spreading the overwhelming urgency for equal rights and governmental change… [It showed] that we, the people, are still here and won’t be silenced until everybody may live equally.” He states that the immense turnout gave him hope for the future in knowing that so many Americans want everyone to be given the same chances to live the best life possible.
The Women’s March message lives on through this not only their mission but in their attendees and beyond to those who’ve heard and read about it. As generations grow and begin to vote themselves, hopefully, the March’s mission to ensure equal rights for every person regardless of who they are or where they come from will shine through. In recent years, there has been more awareness about the gaps between equality of the genders, races, and more.
The future looks brighter because said awareness keeps rising to public attention, hopefully spurring on action to turn these dreams of equality into a reality as our generation with these issues in mind rises to change the world for the better.