Jewell students participate in Women’s March

Catherine Dema — Fri, 02 Feb 2018 14:00:42 +0000

This January, protesters returned to many cities for the 2018 Women’s March, a continuation of the Women’s March in 2017 in the wake of Trump’s inauguration. This year’s protests focused on political action, especially with regard to the upcoming 2018 midterm elections. Additionally, the marches and speakers attempted to incorporate the backdrop of the #MeToo, anti-sexual assault and harassment, movement.

Internationally, most marches took place Jan. 20, 2018, on the anniversary of the original march. The largest crowds in the United States were in New York City, Chicago and Los Angeles with 200 thousand, 300 thousand and 600 thousand attendees, respectively. Thousands of protesters also showed up in hundreds of other cities.

The major theme of the march was “Power to the Polls” in an attempt to have more women in office and to support more women in exercising their right to vote. In addition to the primary gender equality message, the Women’s March also protested racial inequality, lack of LGBTQIA rights, Trump’s immigration reform, the tax policy, limited reproductive rights and a variety of other hot-button issues. President Trump himself tweeted his support of the march despite organizers’ statements about the march’s main goal being protesting him.

Several William Jewell College students attended either this year’s or last year’s marches. Erin Melton, senior Oxbridge Literature and Theory major, attended this year’s march in Topeka, Kan. Jan. 21.

“I was particularly pleased that this year’s theme—Power to the Polls—seemed to be aiming to fix the non-inclusiveness of the original march movement. The speakers were almost exclusively women of color, and they were all either running for or holding office,” Melton said.

She was generally pleased with this year’s march but commented that the organization was lacking. There was no unified, major march in Kansas City itself this year, so the closest one was in Topeka. However, a small march was organized in Kansas City the night before it was held with little advertisement. Similar organizational issues seemed prevalent around the country.

Students who attended marches last year included Karen Tolbert, sophomore economics major, Elliott Yoakum, sophomore Oxbridge Literature and Theory major, and Seki Anderson senior biochemistry and Applied Critical Thought and Inquiry major. All three discussed the successes of the 2017 march as a reactionary response to the inauguration and an immediate option for involvement. The initial march received criticism but is largely regarded as a success because of the massive participation with over five million in attendance across the United States. Anderson said that the general feel of last year’s march was more relaxed than a typical protest because it was largely a display of solidarity against the misogyny at the 2016 campaign.

“The march’s reminder that you have a voice is important,” said Anderson. “Last year was more of a reaction to [the] November [presidential election]. At the time, there wasn’t more action that could have been taken, and attending the march was a concrete way to take action.”

They criticized the 2018 march for its few nearby locations, poor planning, lack of intersectionality, transphobia and march co-opting by the political system.

Tolbert focused on problems regarding the march appealing only to middle-class white women, with lack of substantial LGBTQIA, racially diverse and politically diverse voices. Specifically, the “pussy hats” popularized at the first march are criticized as transphobic and their traditionally pink color as racist. Regardless, the hats were again a staple for marchers, leaving many feeling the march missed a chance to restructure for more inclusivity in its second year.

Anderson and Yoakum further discussed the problematic “white feminist” vibe of the march, identifying the inability of many to attend the march for financial, safety and geographical reasons. Yoakum specifically discussed the unlikelihood that a march aiming to redirect the political establishment would make significant change in societal structures the march initially protested.

“[It] would have been nice to see more mechanisms for accountability, making sure people have scripts to call representatives and a way to look up districts and more info about other gatherings about lobbying or other things like that. A lot of people went to the Women’s March and that counted for civic liberal duty, but it wasn’t actually an action,” Yoakum said.

Another criticism voiced by Tolbert, Anderson and Yoakum was the march’s failure to incorporate the #MeToo movement fully into their message. The political theme of the march was encouraged insofar as it encouraged women to have a sustained voice in politics, but it also appeared to be the Democratic Party co-opting the message of the march, which could have emphasized #MeToo more otherwise.

Tolbert specifically criticized the movement’s general inability to adapt to such movements or positions after the march’s initial reactionary nature. She described the march as “dead in the water.”

“The march started as potentially leftist reactionary movement, but [the movement is] unable to move message or positions, unable to adapt abortion stance, unable to adapt #MeToo medicare for all, DACA, tax cuts or [other relevant movements],” Tolbert said.

Generally, the 2018 march was less successful and received less press than the 2017 march, but proponents of the cause emphasize the need for any action to keep the movement alive, despite its shortcomings.

Photos courtesy of Erin Melton.

A previous version of this article was published with a mistake.

According to the Women’s March on Washington’s official website, an estimated five million people marched in D.C. and in the 673 sister marches which were inspired by the D.C. march.

Photo by Daniel Virga.

William Jewell College students and faculty were among the protesters holding signs and showing support for human rights.

Both Trevor Nicks, WJC senior biochemistry and business administration major, and Seki Anderson, WJC Junior biochemistry major, attended the Kansas City Sister March. Daniel Virga, WJC senior molecular biology Oxbridge, attended a march in Chicago.

“I had never participated in a march before, and I really wanted to turn all of the emotions and thoughts I’ve been having since the election into action,” said Nicks.

The action manifested itself in Washington Square Park in Kansas City Jan. 21 at 1 p.m.

According to a Facebook post by Kansas City Police Chief Darryl Forté, the Kansas City march brought together an estimated 5,000 protesters.

“I think it’s important for Americans to remember that protesting is inherently American and patriotic,” said Nicks. “It is not something to look down upon or be ashamed about. One simply has to look at the Boston Tea Party to see how protests can drive change.”

Anderson was thankful for the Kansas City sister march, as it was accessible for her to attend. She described the environment as electric and not what she had expected.

“At first, there was almost like a party atmosphere—tons of people gathering and loud music,” said Anderson. “People seemed to be cheerful and having a good time.”

Signs and pink pussyhats, knit hats with cat ears, proliferated in the crowds.

“All of the signs that we saw were amazing,” said Nicks. “One of my favorites was being held by a young girl that simply said ‘NOPE.’”

Speakers rallied the crowd and related stories with morals that called for change.

Speakers at the Kansas City March included Mayor Sly James; Zoya Khan, president of the KU Muslim Student Association; Taylor Hirth, a rape victim; Judy Sherry, from Grandparents Against Gun Violence; and many more.

“Some speakers were incredibly brave, as they were rape victims or hate crime survivors,” said Anderson. “Other speakers were more of people of power, so it was good to hear from them too.”

The overall feeling of the protest bred goodwill and genuine desire for fair treatment among human beings, as evidenced by the interaction between protesters.

“At one point, I saw a woman with a knee brace get out of her chair so a woman (who was a stranger according to their conversation) using a cane could sit down for awhile,” said Nicks. “They took turns sitting and standing for the two-hour event.”

The women’s marches across the globe are not just about women’s rights but also about human rights. Protesters shared their views on issues such as gender rights, minimum wage, immigration policy, religious freedom and more.

“I wanted to leave the march feeling hopeful, and I wanted to be a present ally for people of color, refugees, immigrants, the LGBTQUIA+ community and all those who are threatened to lose accessibility to healthcare and wellbeing,” said Anderson. “I wanted to feel hopeful that, as a community, we will resist these violations of human rights.”

The march that Virga attended in Chicago was held Jan. 21, in Grant Park. According to the Women’s March on Chicago official website, 250,000 individuals gathered to “connect, protect and activate.”

“The sheer number of individuals packing the streets was unforgettable,” said Virga. “When you cannot physically move because there are so many bodies packed into one space, the idea of crowd takes on another definition.”

The Women’s March on Chicago official website also said, “the Women’s 1/21 March on Chicago honors but is not directly affiliated with the Women’s March on Washington, DC.”

Chicago’s enthusiastic atmosphere and crowd of individuals who joined together to exercise their rights shared solidarity with the campaigns across the world.

“I remember the first thing I noticed when I started approaching the march very early was the overwhelming amount of pink,” said Virga. “Then, I got the opportunity to catch more details. There were people of all ages, gender, sexuality, color and religion all together in one large movement. It was great.”

The Chicago march included various performances and speeches from members of civic organizations and actors from the “Hamilton” cast.

Photo by Daniel Virga.

All the protesters had either personal beliefs or universal motivations that pushed them to enlist in the cause.

“My aim was two-fold,” said Virga. “To show the women in my life that I support them and refuse to accept anything but equal rights for them and to show our current administration that we will not stand for the nonsense currently happening in our political sphere.”

With Jan. 21 in our wake, protesters remember the passion incited in the marches and are determined to continue the surge to create lasting changes.

“A march is important because it makes a very public statement in which the world in this case can recognize exactly what we will and won’t stand for,” said Virga. “However, if we cannot follow through with actions, passion isn’t going to change policy.”

Virga reminds all to take action to initiate actual change.

“I fear that the sheer number of divisive problems that have arisen just in this first week is going to overwhelm people to the point that no action outside of marching is going to occur,” said Virga.

Nicks has already turned his protesting into action.

“I think it’s important to contact our representatives,” said Nicks. “I’ve been calling Roy Blunt’s office once every couple of days since November 8 to communicate my thoughts as a constituent, and I don’t plan on stopping.”

Along these lines, the Women’s March on Washington organization has instituted a “10 actions for the first 100 days” campaign.

The first of these actions is sending a postcard to your congressman. The Women’s March on Washington website offers free printable postcards to send.

For more of Daniel Virga’s work, please check out the Monitor’s Photo Feature in this issue.

womens march – The Hilltop Monitor

Jewell students participate in Women’s March

Photo Feature: Women’s March

Jewell students participate in women’s marches