Millions march for women’s rights

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VOL. 36, NO. 2, FEBRUARY 2018 WWW.SOCIALISTACTION.ORG U.S. $1 / CANADA $2 Once again women hit the streets on Jan. 20 and 21. The U.S. marches were decentralized in nature, but the turnout was high. They reflected the anger and determination to resist that many women feel under the looming shadow of President Trump.

Last year, the marches took place on the first day of his presidency, and the focus was on Washington D.C. This year, women in the U.S. did not do much travel­ ing but generally marched in nearby cities and small towns around the country.

From 1.6 million to 2.5 million marched throughout the United States, according to researchers Erica Che­ noweth and Jeremy Pressman. Close to 500 separate events took place in the U.S., with 200 other events worldwide. In many cities, the turnout was higher than a year ago. Some 300,000 marched in Chicago, 200,000 in New York, and over half a million in Los Angeles. There were around 60,000 in San Francisco, about the same number in Philadelphia, and slightly less in Oakland, while tens of thousands marched in Washington, D.C.

But just as impressive as the numbers in major cit­ ies were all the homemade signs expressing the anger and creativity of the women and children in marches in communities large and small. The predominant themes were anti-Trump resistance and persistence.

The lead organizers for last year’s Women’s March hoped to be able to influence the independent march­ es this year with their proposed themes of “March to the Polls” (i.e., Chicago and Washington) and “Power To The Polls” (i.e., Las Vegas) as a way to impose sup­ porting Democrats in 2018. On their website they stated, “This will harness the collective energy to advocate for policies and candidates that reflect our values.”

Undoubtedly, the organizers thought their slogan would catch on, and women would participate with t-shirts, banners, and mass-produced signs proclaim­ ing they were simply marching to the Democratic Party’s drumbeat. But while some signs referred to the power of voting, and in some areas elected of­ ficials spoke, the marches were filled with young women who were angry at the system and wanted to “Smash Patriarchy.”

They also addressed DACA and immigration, chal­ lenged sexual violence and racism, and supported LGBTQ rights. These issues were also reflected in signs and chants.

(Above) Women’s March in Nashville, Tenn., on Jan. 20.

Carole Metellus, an activist in Philadelphia, told WHYY radio that she showed up in support of im­ migrant communities. “As a Haitian-American, I have to be here to protest what the White House is saying about us and our ‘shithole’ countries,” she said. “It was important to raise my voice in solidarity.”

Speaking from the stage in Los Angeles, African American actress Viola Davis reviewed the history of legal Jim Crow in the United States, and paraphrased Martin Luther King in saying, “I’m not willing to wait 150 years for things to change.” As one who was sexu­ ally assaulted in childhood, she said, “I am in solidar­ ity with all the women who raised their hands [in the #MeToo movement]. … I am speaking for all the women who are still in silence.”

In Chicago, a young woman marcher interviewed by CNN also spoke to the issue of sexual harassment: “I think it’s hard sometimes for our generation to com­ prehend the seriousness of the cases, not just in Hol­ lywood but everywhere. But I think it is important for our generation to understand that we cannot be (continued on page 5, in “Haitians denounce Trump’s ‘shithole’ remark”)

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a plant in Thailand.

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INSIDE Labor — 2 SOCIALIST

Haitians to Trump — 5 Mitch Linck for Senate — 3 Climate — 6 Immigration / March 8 — 4 Unemployment — 7 Capitalism’s destruction See centerfold.

Antiwar — 8 Syria — 9 Canada news — 10 Palestine — 11 & 12