On January 21st, 2017 I witnessed
the power of groundswell and resistance through participating in the women’s
march. A native of Maine, I took to Portland, Maine to march among a band of
social justice advocates fighting in solidarity for human rights.
I currently live in Boston and I truly wish
that I could have been in two places at once, but thanks to the power of social media I was
moved to see cities all over the world marching in solidarity. Resistance is an act of love.
As I stood at the top of Munjoy hill
surrounded by fired up people and a sea of social justice signs, I was struck
by a wave of emotions: pride, shock, anger, sadness, fear, confusion and an
overwhelming sense of empowerment. I felt energized to be a small part of this
movement and rejuvenated to see how many others believe in equality.
For the first time since gaining the right to
vote, the presidential election ended in an outcome that I did not want. I
realized how lucky my young adult life had been to have had a progressive president
who did so much to move our nation forward. It was the first time I had marched
following an election and it made me wonder what it was like for the many women’s rights advocates in previous generations to unite as a whole.
Social media played a huge role in generating
one of the largest protest marches in Maine and uniting advocates all across
the globe. Speaking personally, I checked event pages on Facebook to easily
find the logistics of where the marches were taking place and to see if any of my
other friends were participating. I noticed other Facebook friends
posting statuses that asked who else would be marching. It’s easier than ever
to connect and create coalitions.
I was curious to learn more about how
advocates communicated in previous generations to generate momentum and turn
out for marches. This past weekend, I
watched the documentary She’s Beautiful When She’s Angry, which show cased the women’s marches that took place in
the late 1960s and early 1970s. Interestingly, in those years, advocates used pamphlets and
position papers to communicate issues of inequality. Notably, in 1969 Alta
started the Shameless Hussy Press and in the early 1970s Gloria Steinem's help to co-found Ms. Magazine,
as a way to contribute media for women by women.
It was striking to see how many issues in the
1970s march---such as the right to choose when to give birth, equal work for equal
pay, and violence against women----are still prevalent in today’s marches. Although it is disheartening to see much of
women’s progress set backwards, the millions of people marching for justice is
uplifting. It is encouraging that social media makes it exponentially easier to
connect than it was in the 1970s.
