March On Lethbridge to show women’s movement solidarity
Event goes Saturday at Multicultural Centre
On Saturday, Lethbridge will join communities across the world to celebrate the one-year anniversary of the Women’s March on Washington.
On Jan. 21, 2017, the day after U.S. President Donald Trump’s inauguration, thousands flooded the streets of Washington in protest and solidarity events took place across the world.
Karen Hann joined others in Lethbridge; it was her first experience with activism on a large scale and her very first protest.
“It was profoundly moving, it helped me see that people who feel isolated are not necessarily alone,” she said.
Since then she’s attended numerous events and rallies across the city and now she’s organizing the March On Lethbridge event.
The event begins at 11 a.m. on Saturday with a standing rally by the Multicultural Centre along 6 Avenue and 4 Street South.
“We have some elderly and some individuals with disabilities where marching would be uncomfortable and difficult,” Hann explained.
A new element this year is a partnership with the Lethbridge Living Library. Following the rally, from 1 to 4 p.m., various speakers and interactive workshops are slated to take place inside the Multicultural Centre.
On Wednesday, supporters gathered at Drunken Sailor to help prepare signs and knit the iconic pink “pussyhats” that were used last year as a symbol of protest against Trump, alluding to his infamous “Access Hollywood” recording.
Drunken Sailor is not just a retail outlet, but also a gathering spot for many activists, which is why Loralee Edwards opened her doors for a second year in a row to help prepare for the event.
But after Edwards watched another media interview with the organizer, which she felt focused predominately on the controversies surrounding the pink “pussyhats,” she had to voice her concerns.
It was not an unexpected topic as the reporter had been in contact with the organizer prior, but Edwards was concerned the story was no longer focusing on some of the larger issues that helped bring momentum to the movement.
“Often controversy comes in and it clouds what’s really going on and we’ve seen it used so many times,” said Edwards. “It’s trying to take the strength out of a movement — it’s used very purposely.”
The controversy, she explained, is “because not all of our anatomy is pink, so if you’re a woman of colour, your anatomy may not be pink and if you’re a transwoman, you might not even have that anatomy.
“Those are good critiques that we have to figure out, we have to talk about.”
“I didn’t want to make it seem like that wasn’t an important question," added Edwards, saying she just wanted to redirect the focus back to the event and movement.
“We have this voice, we’re strong, we’re able to talk, we’re able to say these things we were too scared to say,” she added.
But one local politician who was in attendance on Wednesday shared her story long before the “#MeToo” movement became mainstream.
In November 2015, Lethbridge East MLA Maria Fitzpatrick stood in the Alberta legislature and delivered an emotional speech during a debate about Bill 204.
That day she shared stories of her broken bones, black eyes, sexual assault and two miscarriages that came from being trapped in an abusive relationship.
The bill passed and now victims of domestic violence may flee an abusive home without the added fear of a penalty for breaking a tenancy agreement early.
“First of all, I’m really glad that I spoke,” said Fitzpatrick to The Herald. “I’ve said many times that day in the legislature, I hadn’t planned on telling my story, I had planned on talking about a couple of areas of my personal experience that would support the bill.
“When I started to write it, I just kept writing and stopped myself after writing five pages.”
Within 24 hours of that speech, thousands of people contacted Fitzpatrick — they still do.
Since then, she has spoken at nearly 20 different forums.
“Every time that I speak, I can see the ripples of that conversation increase tenfold,” she said.
Just a few months ago, Fitzpatrick joined three other speakers for the Alberta Council of Women’s Shelter’s annual fundraiser “Breakfast with the Guys” in Edmonton. It was mostly men in attendance, she recalled, adding she tries to maintain eye contact with the audience when she speaks.
“There were men that were crying and there were men that would not look at me,” she explained.
Afterwards, fellow speaker Keon Raymond of the Calgary Stampeders, hugged Fitzpatrick.
“He had grown up in a domesticviolence situation,” she said. “Afterwards he came over, gave me a hug and thanked me for sharing my story because it was so parallel to his story with his mom.
“But you can see after those events that the conversation rises again.”
Last year helped bring many societal issues to the forefront.
“It has really opened the door for women to speak their truth, to talk about how they felt oppressed. It may not have been classic domestic violence; there may not be bruises; however, there are certainly internal bruises,” Fitzpatrick added.
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