Never Lose Hope

Atlanta March for Social Justice and Women

The celebratory atmosphere, reminiscent of the open-air party that accompanied the city's 1996 Olympics, went a long way towards soothing our anxiety about Trump's presidency. The size of the protest vastly exceeded expectations. As my cousin (mom of a Georgia Tech student) remarked, the only time such a large crowd ...
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Conspicuous Absence:

The Women’s Rally in Greenville, South Carolina

Those of us on the political left were excited to see so many other likeminded people given that we were in South Carolina, one of the most conservative states in the country. I wouldn’t have imagined such a gathering when, during the presidential primaries, Trump opened his campaign headquarters on ...
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Donald Trump: It’s Not Your Thing!

A dispatch from the Women’s March on Washington, January 21, 2017

At long last, we started moving. And from the very first moment that people got the message that, yes, because of how immensely larger than expected the crowd was, we were in fact being told to walk north along 7th, and not to turn west along Independence as had been ...
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Donald Trump: It’s Not Your Thing!

Dispatch from the Queen City

Buffalo Women’s March

Luckily Buffalo has also experienced a resurgence of political activism in recent years. This has ranged from Black Lives Matter to umbrella groups like the Partnership for the Public Good, the Western New York Peace Center, and People United for Sustainable Housing (PUSH), activists which have done invaluable work coordinating ...
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“Can I smoke weed here?”

LA Women’s March

That was the most controversial behavior I witnessed (or rather, overheard) at LA’s Women’s March of an estimated 750,000 people.  A young woman contemplating smoking pot, a drug that California voted overwhelmingly to make legal for recreational use, and her friend quickly shutting it down. There was more than one ...
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Still Protesting This Shit

The Women’s March in Concord, New Hampshire

I have two lingering impressions from the rally. One is that New Hampshire has an amazing pipeline that nurtures women candidates.   Both our Senators and both our representatives in Congress are women. Jeanne Shaheen, Maggie Hassan, and Carol Shea Porter all spoke, while Annie Kuster marched with the New Hampshire ...
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I Am a Fucking Feminist

The Women’s March on Sydney

For a short time recently, Australia had its first female Prime Minister, Julia Gillard. Holding together a minority government with the help of independents, Gillard managed to pass landmark legislation regarding education and disability. During her time at the helm, the parliament also passed a record amount of legislation. She ...
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Over the Bridge

The Women’s March Across the Hudson

Special congratulations are due to organizers Lisa Kaul and Paulina Bren, who kept at it as the numbers swelled, making it such an inspirational event. When the organizers began two weeks ago, one person estimated that 25 people would show up, another put it at 100. Within a week it ...
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Action in the Face of Trumpism and LePageism

Maine’s Augusta Women’s March

The Augusta Woman’s March was one of two large gatherings in Maine, each of which hit historic highs of 10,000. Other smaller events in this state of 1.2 million people added up to another 1,000. Organizers and attendees were surprised by the turnouts. Beforehand about 3000 had indicated on Facebook ...
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The Cultural Front:

The San Diego Women’s March

Once we get downtown, the march itself is more diverse. The speakers call out to many racial groups as well as queer, trans, immigrant, veteran, and deaf communities. We end up walking behind a group of Chinese-speakers who have dyed their hair pink. Most people’s signs are homemade: “Rise up!” ...
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Even in Lubbock

Rallying in the Lone Star State

Given this context, it was amazing to arrive at the rally today to see hundreds of other people (I've seen estimates of anywhere from 400-1000.) We occupied a park on a busy corner, directly across from the university and adjacent to two major streets. It was a diverse crowd of ...
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Love, Solidarity, and the #WomensMarch

In Providence, Rhode Island

The event itself was led by longtime organizer Shanna Wells working both backstage and as emcee for speakers. Governor Gina Raimondo was the first speaker of the 2.5 hour series, in which she declared that she was fired up to defend “our core values” against any assault by the new ...
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