‘The power of our democracy is more important than ever’
N.M. Virtual Women’s March to have Haaland as speaker
This year’s Women’s March won’t see thousands of residents filling the streets of downtown Santa Fe in protest as they did four years ago after the presidential inauguration of Donald Trump.
Amid the coronavirus pandemic and just days after Democratic President-elect Joe Biden’s inauguration, the annual event will continue Saturday as a virtual celebration of the state’s women.
U.S. Rep. Debra Haaland, a New Mexico Democrat who recently was nominated by Biden to be secretary of the interior, will be the keynote speaker of the Zoom event, organizer Katie Christianson said. Christianson, a New Mexico Highlands University graduate student, is organizing the Virtual Women’s March in collaboration with the League of Women Voters of New Mexico.
Recorded talks by other notable New Mexico women — including state Rep. Linda Serrato, D-Santa Fe, and Kansas Begaye, a Native American recording artist and 2013 Miss Indian World from Waterflow, N.M. — also will be featured.
The nonpartisan theme of the free virtual march is “The Power of Women Voting,” according to a news release.
“In light of the recent events in our nation’s capital, we believe that emphasizing the power of our democracy is more important than ever,” Christianson said in the news release. “Voting rights issues like voter suppression, redistricting and fair and impartial elections are vital to preserving that democracy.
These issues are also directly tied to the rights of marginalized people in the United States.”
On Jan. 21, 2017, millions of people marched in Washington, D.C., and cities worldwide — including up to 15,000 in Santa Fe — to draw attention to women’s issues. Smaller events were held in following years.
When it seemed no one else was organizing an event in New Mexico for 2021, said Christianson, a volunteer with the League of Women Voters, she decided to step up and continue the effort.
She initially envisioned a car parade when she began organizing the event over the summer, she said. The league agreed to shoulder some of the costs, such as security. Later, however, in light of the state’s public health order restricting mass gatherings to fight the spread of COVID-19, she decided the event should be moved online.
“Even though we can’t meet in person, we can still gather virtually to celebrate the power of women voting,” she wrote in the release. “We can demonstrate our solidarity and hold our elected officials accountable for supporting all voters’ rights and speaking for their constituents.”
In addition to speakers, Christianson said, the event will include musical performances by several local women and video clips of New Mexico women who have recorded short videos of themselves for a virtual march.
Christianson did have some concerns that a Zoom event, which requires a computer and internet connection, would lead to the exclusion of many women. But “we didn’t have any other solutions for safely engaging these communities in terms of gathering together,” she said.
Her hope, she said, is that this year’s virtual event, which isn’t affiliated with any others, will provide a chance for women who don’t know one another to connect and sow the seeds “for a bigger, more representative march next year.”
The event is scheduled to begin at 11 a.m. Saturday. Participation is free but requires registration at katiechristianson.com.
Christianson said people who would like to submit video clips of themselves or others for the virtual march to be shown during the event must do so by Thursday. Instructions are on the registration page.