Reflecting on the Women’s March

One year ago today, I was preparing to take my first-ever road trip to Washington, DC. I would rather have been going to see the sights, but I was going to participate in the Women’s March. Donald Trump, our newly-inaugurated president, had already begun showing himself as sexist, racist, and dangerous to citizens who were not like him. Yes, the march was criticized as an anti-Trump event, and it’s true that we probably wouldn’t have coalesced the way we did had it not been for his influence and newly-given power. But at its core, the march was the beginning of a movement of women (and men) of all races, faiths, social groups, economic and educational backgrounds, standing together as we all know we should.

I’ve written about my experience at the march, from the traveling conditions to a variety of reactions from family and friends. My trip to Washington was certainly not the start of my “New Life As A Protester”, but I have been watching the movement over the past twelve months. As we contemplate the anniversary of the march, I wanted to share some of my thoughts.

• The (Re)Birth of Activism: I think the Women’s March did a good thing trying to harness the incoming interest and energy, with their “10 Actions in 100 Days” plan. I’ll admit, I found the first couple of tasks a bit daunting (I’m not the kind of person to put together a huddle, for example). But I appreciate what they were trying to do. I did lose track of what all 10 actions were, so I’m not sure how well it all went.
• We Weren’t Ready: I think all of us can admit that we weren’t prepared for the onslaught of crazy news that started flowing from the White House right from day 1. From the Muslim travel ban to gagging official government channels like the EPA, every single day seemed to bring a new instance where I know I personally questioned if this was seriously the world we were living in. Strategy-wise, it was a fairly smart move for Trump, in that he and his team kept making move after move after move, and we as citizens collectively just didn’t know how to handle all the activity. The strategy was designed to wear us down, and sadly, there have been many moments where that’s worked — at least temporarily.
• Can You Hear Me Now?: Speaking for myself, I know that I’ve spent a lot more time actively engaging with politics, whether that meant following seeming-minutiae of Congressional actions or communicating directly with my representatives, either as an individual constituent or as part of a larger group. The Women’s March organizers did a great job keeping people connected to a variety of sources for following news and engaging our representatives.

• Free Expression Courage Award: PEN America recognized the Women’s March for the amazing event that it was, with over 2,000,000 people marching worldwide. While a cynical part of my brain tried to call this little more than a “participation trophy” of sorts, it still serves as a reminder to me that I was a part of something historical. And the goal of the march was to further empower women, so I will gratefully accept any recognition of efforts in that direction.
• Un-Conventional: This past October, the Women’s March movement ended up spawning a full convention — a gathering of leaders and potential leaders, with a goal of empowering women to make changes and progress in their local communities. Organizers ended up setting off a bit of a firestorm when they extended an invitation to Bernie Sanders to speak, which I must say, I can understand. (As it turns out, he ended up traveling to Puerto Rico to survey the aftermath of Hurricane Maria rather than speak at the convention.) Convention speakers included a variety of female leaders and allies, including outspoken Congresswoman Maxine Waters.
• Power To The Polls: Today, the message is clear. Large-scale change will only happen at the polls. We’ve seen so many of our representatives going along with agendas that don’t meet our beliefs, and it’s clear that we need a change. We can gather and protest all we want, but if our leaders won’t listen, then we need new leaders. WE can be those new leaders. The future of the Women’s March movement — at least as far as I can see, particularly with anniversary events in progress — is to encourage more women to run for office, and then to get to the polls and vote for those women! We need to stop protesting changes that aren’t happening, and start making those changes for ourselves.

The sign I carried at the Women’s March on Washington

Has the Women’s March movement been perfect? Hardly. Nothing is perfect, but we’re still here and we’re still moving forward. Communication strategies haven’t always worked (hey, it’s hard to mobilize millions of people!), but from where I sit, the leaders of the organization are doing what leaders do, which is listen and adapt. Although I personally find moments where the movement strikes me as too commercialized and potentially too self-serving (for example, do we really need a commemorative book? and how are proceeds from the book being used?), I’m happy to see the focus shifting.

I think collectively, we need to realize how much change relies on individual citizens doing their part, whether that means running for office, supporting someone else who is running, or simply getting out there and casting their vote. If the Women’s March organization continues its trajectory toward empowering female candidates and encouraging larger voter turnout, then I think we have a real chance to make substantial social changes. The march has to continue, but daily. We started in the streets; we need to end at the polls. We need to fundamentally change our government. And we can.