Who will be there?įeminist leader Gloria Steinem and Harry Belafonte are both serving as honorary co-chairs of the march. We want to make sure people are taking action not just on 21 January, but stay engaged for months and years into the future.” Is the march only for women? We want to make sure they have a great time at this march, but also plug into local efforts. “This is a movement where people are inspired to take action at numbers we’ve never seen before. “It’s no secret Planned Parenthood is expecting the fight of our lives,” said Kelley Robinson, deputy national organizing director for Planned Parenthood. Planned Parenthood has helped shape the march’s policy agenda, and in return, it hopes that many of the protesters will mobilize in its defense when Trump and congressional Republicans make their attempt to strip the organization of millions in federal funding. Throughout his election campaign, Trump promised to defund the reproductive health organization because it performs abortions.
Planned Parenthood got involved specifically because it thinks the march will “send a strong message to the incoming administration that millions of people across this country are prepared to fight attacks on reproductive healthcare, abortion services and access to Planned Parenthood,” said Cecile Richards, president of Planned Parenthood Federation of America. The march is a very broad church, with Sarsour explaining it as a “stand on social justice and human rights issues ranging from race, ethnicity, gender, religion, immigration and healthcare”. It’s much more about being proactive about women’s rights,” said Cassady Fendlay, spokeswoman for the march. The Women’s March on Washington is quick to say it is not an anti-Trump protest. “Negotiating with the six federal agencies on the route, insurance, fundraising, vendors, private security.” What is the message of the march? “It takes more than I ever imagined to organize a mass mobilization,” said Sarsour. Planned Parenthood has just become an official partner of the march and will assist leaders in providing staff and large-scale event planning knowledge. The four co-chairs are now Linda Sarsour (executive director of the Arab American Association of New York), Tamika D Mallory (political organizer and former executive director of the National Action Network), Carmen Perez (executive director of political action group The Gathering for Justice) and Bob Bland (a fashion designer who focuses on ethical manufacturing). The march emerged as a grassroots effort in the days after election, but after the Facebook event went viral, traditional political organizers and groups became involved. Protests will also be held around the world in cities including Sydney, Zurich and Mexico City. The best way to find information is to locate the state chapter for each group on the main event’s Facebook page. Although the largest march is expected to take place in Washington, at least 30 cities nationwide are also holding their own women’s march rallies on 21 January. Organizers say they haven’t publicized the route for security reasons. But march organizers say they have now secured a permit, and the event will start at 10am at the intersection of Independence Avenue and Third Street SW, near the US Capitol. This is in large part because inauguration equipment including bleachers won’t have been cleared from these areas yet.
Many locations on the National Mall in Washington are off-limits to protesters, including the Lincoln Memorial. Where is the Women’s March on Washington? Here’s what you need to know about protest plans on 21 January.
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