In the aftermath of the 600+ Women’s Marches across the globe this last weekend, there has been a lot of backlash about why so many people felt it was necessary. Social media has been riddled with ‘Why I Marched’ and even ‘Why I Didn’t March’ posts.
The Official National March on Washington Facebook group explained the march as such: “[It] will send a bold message to our new administration on their first day in office, and to the world, that women’s rights are human rights. We stand together, recognizing that defending the most marginalized among us is defending all of us. We support the advocacy and resistance movements that reflect our multiple and intersecting identities. We call on all defenders of human rights to join us.”
While the marches across the country held more than 3.3 million people, I personally marched in Oklahoma City with 14,000 people, and that is important. It is important, because over the last few months, and really this last election season, there has been a rhetoric passed around about the middle american people, the farmers, the midwesterners, the bible belt states people. We can attest to this, because as Oklahoman’s or out-of-state residents we know that Oklahoma has been time and time again voted as a Republican state, much like surrounding states. However, 14,000 people showed up. 14,000. That is not a minority. That is not nothing. That matters. It matters, because it states that the rhetoric that has been passed along about who we are and what we stand for is simply not true. The March on 500+ cities across the country, both heard on national news and hidden in the plains of average, everyday people? That is nothing short of groundbreaking. And that matters deeply.
Throughout social media this last week, I have seen posts of mostly white women (if I’m to be honest) stating that they didn’t march, because they have the rights they want. They did not march, simply because their white privilege has sheltered them to a degree that they cannot even see that maybe they could march for someone other than themselves. They failed to see that perhaps the march is about all of us, and that perhaps our individual realities are not everyones realities.
So why did we march? We marched because as the esteemed Hillary Rodham Clinton said, “Women’s Rights are Human Rights. And Human Rights are Women’s Rights.” That is absolutely true, but we also marched to show that we are here. We marched to be heard. We marched to say that sexual assault is not okay. We marched to say that deportation is not okay. We marched to say that the hatred of minorities and groups of people based out of fear is not okay. We marched because racism and bigotry is very much alive and being perpetrated by the elected officials. We marched because global warming is real. We marched because “alternative facts” are just lies. We marched because we refuse to go backwards. We marched, because to stay silent is to side with the oppressor.
As a white collegiate female, I marched alongside husbands and wives, daughters and sons, grandma’s and grandpa’s, muslim families, people of all races, religions, sexual orientations and identities, shapes and sizes. We marched for intersectionality. As we moved forward, I felt a hope settle all around me. We sang together, prayed together, and cheered together. We marched to gain deeper understandings to different groups issues and hopes and dreams.
We marched. 14,000. And that matters.
To learn more about the National Women’s March: https://www.womensmarch.com/100/
To learn more about the continuing March On Oklahoma Campaign: https://www.facebook.com/pg/MarchOnOklahoma/about/?ref=page_internal