I was born and raised in small town USA by a pretty conservative family, surrounded by pretty conservative friends, so marching and rallies and protesting were not exactly in my vocabulary. As I’ve grown up over the years I’ve become passionate about a lot of issues in politics, society, religion, and the environment. As a woman, women’s issues are at the top of that list, and our country was founded on protest and freedom of speech. I was offered opportunities to go to DC but I had prior commitments, so when I found out Chicago would hold a march as well I gathered a couple friends and headed for the Windy City.
We got to the city at 9:15 am and waited for the march to start at 10. Immediately we start seeing women with cardboard, vests embellished with buttons, and the now famous pink hats. We’re not from the area at all so having no idea where we were going, we followed the pink. We arrived in front of a jumbotron somewhere on Lakeshore Drive. The park was already packed; we were getting nowhere near the stage. Women from every community you could think of spoke about the injustice and inequality of women around the country. Ari Afsar, Karen Olivo, and Samantha Marie Ware from the Chicago cast of Hamilton spoke about the struggle they grew up with in their respected communities. Aislinn Pulley from Black Lives Matter Chicago energized the crowd with the names of women who have shaped America, including black women, Native American women, trans women, etc. If you do the research you can find the injustice done to marginalized women, but to hear from the source was incredible and moving. Women around us were shaking their heads in disbelief; I don’t think they did their homework. The women, allies, and children around me cheered and booed with every word they said, an inclusiveness that I was told and often shown did not exist.
The emcee for the rally then got on the mic to introduce the lead safety patrolwoman for the day as a quick shout out to those who helped keep the march safe! “Last night 60,000+ women were registered to come. There are now 150,000+ of you in the city. Michigan Avenue is flooded and there are still people waiting to get on trains in Oak Park. You did it.” It was unsafe to march in the city. We had taken over Chicago. We would spend the day rallying where we were standing. We were a little disappointed considering the title of this article was supposed to be “My first march”, but at the time I figured it would be okay. We were surrounded by amazing people, funny yet poignant signs and banners, and love. There was nothing but love surrounding us.
After a few more speakers we look around and the crowd seemed to be moving. Chants were beginning. We were marching. We snaked our way through the city with roads blocked as police and safety patrol officers helped us along the way. There were women standing on trash cans as well as climbing on statues. People were hanging out of their apartment with signs. Phones recorded us through the windows of the L. Men shouted “Their body, their rights”. A pedestrian following the wave turned to me and asked, “Which do you think was bigger? This or after the World Series? Amazing.”
“Amazing” is a good way to describe January 21, 2017. No matter what side of the political spectrum you are on, or who you voted for, it was amazing. Seeing women from every community, allies of every age, families in T-shirts, made it was amazing. This was happening not just in large cities or around the country, but around the world. I decided that I would no longer be a bystander. I will no longer like a post on Facebook and continue to let injustice happen. The suffragettes marched and rallied for years before anything happened. This may have been my first march, but it sure won’t be my last.
To find more information go to http://womens121marchonchicago.org/ or find the hashtags #womensmarchchi #womensmarchchicago #whyimarch