Women’s March returns for third year
Two days before the first Women’s March on a frosty January morning in 2017, I worried that the whole thing was about to implode because of squabbling over a decision made by the national leaders.
At issue was a Woman’s March-approved list of revolutionary women, trailblazers who had broken the ground on which other women now intended to march ever closer to equality, freedom and opportunity.
The list included luminaries such as Gloria Steinem, Harriet Tubman, Dolores Huerta and Malala Yousafzai.
Notably, one name was missing: Hillary Clinton.
The stinging exclusion sent shock waves among those who had watched Clinton come so close to becoming the first female U.S. president.
Thankfully, the uproar over the list was not enough to bring down the march, which became the largest single-day demonstration in U.S. history, with at least 4.2 million people marching not only in Washington, D.C., but in more than 600 cities across the country — including Albuquerque, Las Cruces, Dem-
ing, Fort Sumner and Santa Fe.
If you were at one of those marches, you know what it felt like to be buoyed in a sea of pink hats, power and promise of better days ahead. Seeing women all over the world walking in solidarity and sisterhood was uplifting, inspiring, empowering.
Many of the women who marched had never contemplated being a part of any political cause.
But even after the pink hats and sneakers were put away, many of those women kept on going. They ran for office, worked on campaigns, joined activist groups, showed up at their political leaders’ town halls and offices, voted.
When January 2018 rolled around, women — and men — marched again. This time, the Women’s March was proactive rather than reactive, centered on the theme of Power to the Polls in advance of the midterm elections.
So here we are, days away from the third Women’s March — Saturday in most cities, Sunday in Albuquerque because the date conflicted with the annual Martin Luther King Jr. Parade and March.
This year’s theme is Women’s Wave, a celebration of the record number of women who won elections across the United States.
In New Mexico, women now hold the office of governor, two of three U.S. representative seats and 31 of the 70-seat state House.
“We are celebrating these women who are making history,” said Samia Assed, chairwoman of New Mexico Women’s March. “But the march this year is also to keep the momentum. We’ve started to move the needle forward but so much work needs to be addressed.”
The Albuquerque march will feature guest speakers Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham, Rep. Deb Haaland, Albuquerque first lady Elizabeth Kistin Keller and poets Jessica Helen Lopez and Sarita Sol González, among others.
But once again, controversy on a national level has arisen, with calls for the four national chairwomen — Bob Bland, Tamika Mallory, Linda Sarsour and Carmen Perez — to resign over concerns that they have steered the movement away from its original course of empowerment and inclusion and have aligned themselves with anti-Semitism and homophobic interests, particularly through their interaction with Nation of Islam leader Louis Farrakhan.
The women have denounced the allegations, saying they stand against bigotry and discrimination in all forms but acknowledge they should have responded sooner before the “media storm” hit and feelings were hurt.
“Trying to dismantle oppression, while working within systems of oppression, is hard,” they said.
Fallout has been brutal. Several marches, including in Chicago and New Orleans, have been canceled. Sponsors, including the Democratic National Committee, have walked away.
Some marches have distanced themselves from the national organization or joined up with March On, formed by a former Women’s March leader.
Locally, Assed said she is troubled by the turmoil but stands in solidarity with the beleaguered chairwomen, calling some of the media coverage overblown and an attempt by those who do not want change to cripple the movement.
“We know we have different views and ideas, but in coming together we find the humanity,” she said. “That is the key. Despite its imperfections, the Women’s March is transformative. It already has been. If we step back, we risk losing so much. I believe we will get through this stronger than ever.”
Revolution is messy. Solidarity is not always solid. Suffragettes, civil rights leaders, even our Founding Fathers knew that.
Assed acknowledges that this Sunday’s march will likely not be as large as the first one. But the Women’s March still has miles to go.