The Oakland Press

Women’s March held in Auburn Hills

- By Jessica McLean jmclean@medianewsg­roup.com @journalism­jam on Twitter

On Saturday, the Women’s March rallied across the United States to advocate for women, includingm­arching inWashingt­on D.C.

Women’s March Oakland, the Oakland County section of the organizati­on, kicked off the marches for the day in theDetroit area in AuburnHill­s from 9 a.m. to 11 a.m. atRiversid­e Park in Auburn Hills, located at 3311 Squirrel Court at Auburn and Squirrel roads.

The event was a brief launch for the Women’s March Landing Rally, the event’s main rally, at Hallwood Plaza in Flint, located at 4901 Clio Road, where women fromOaklan­d andGenesee counties gathered to protest.

The event consisted of a drive up I-75 to Flint, for which the women decorated their cars and drove up to the main event at

Hallwood Plaza.

“The women of Oakland and Genesee Counties stand in solidarity with ALL women across our nation,” the Facebook event page said. “We fight for ourselves and each other.

“United, we will continue to fight to end violence, for environmen­tal justice, for reproducti­ve rights, civil rights, disability rights, immigrant rights, worker rights, health care as a human right, and wage equality. We stand in solidarity with our black and brown sisters, our LGBTQIA sisters, and all others who suffer at the hands of oppression, sexism, and bigotry.”

The Oakland County and Flint events were organized by Kristin Watt, Jessica Riddle, Sherlynn Everly and Meghan Hill.

Many people came out to the kickoff rally in Auburn Hills, including Rosemary Bayer, a Democratic Michigan state senator from the state’s 12th District.

“It is important because we are doing it together really. Every time women march, coming together, the statement is made,” Bayer said.

“The movement goes forward establishi­ng equity and building our part of the universe. To be a little bit different then theway it is today,” she said.

When asked why she thought this year’s election was important, Bayer said,

“It’s funny, it’s more important than any of us can remember. SO many people are engaged.”

“It’s important because we are feeling a little damaged I think. We have so much contention, so much partisansh­ip and so many things that are broken right now. We are counting on this election to bring us some stability,” she said.

Participan­ts also included Natalie Harmon, a Fenton resident, who was concerned about voter rights suppressio­n when contacting her local school board.

“I emailed, again, and again, and again,” she said. “Finally, I get a response back from a board member and she called me rude, she accused me of being disrespect­ful. All at the same time I was her constitute. Easy to say, she lost my vote.”

“Our young people are being told all the time that they are not important, that their vote does not matter, that what they say is not important,” she continued.

“If they say the vote of the young people is not important, we we will nevermake a difference,” Harmon said.

For more informatio­n on the national march, visit the Women’s March website. Or, for informatio­n on the local march, visitWomen’s March Oakland’s section of the page and click on “Marches.” Or, to see the march on social media, visit @womensmarc­honwash or @womensmarc­hoak on Facebook, or @ womensmarc­h on Twitter.

 ?? PHOTOS BY ROY AKERS — FORMEDIANE­WS GROUP ?? Rosemary Bayer, a Democratic Michigan state senator fromthe state’s 12th District, speaks atWomen’s March Oakland’s kickoff rally on Saturday in Auburn Hills. See a photo gallery of the event at theoakland­press.com
PHOTOS BY ROY AKERS — FORMEDIANE­WS GROUP Rosemary Bayer, a Democratic Michigan state senator fromthe state’s 12th District, speaks atWomen’s March Oakland’s kickoff rally on Saturday in Auburn Hills. See a photo gallery of the event at theoakland­press.com
 ??  ?? Natalie Harmon, a Fenton resident, participat­es in the Women’s March Oakland’s kickoff rally on Saturday in Auburn Hills.
Natalie Harmon, a Fenton resident, participat­es in the Women’s March Oakland’s kickoff rally on Saturday in Auburn Hills.

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