Women's March on the Palouse
January 18 marked the third annual Women’s March. This march began as a worldwide protest for the inauguration of President Donald Trump as, according to the organizers, “a way to send a bold message to the administration on their first day in office and to the world that women’s rights are human rights.” The march has continued every year of his presidency.
Organized by Lysa Salsbury, a University of Idaho Women’s Center employee, the Moscow Women’s March began at the city hall parking lot and ended at East City Park. At the park, there was a rally that included various performers and speakers. One of those speakers spoke about the core values of the march. She said, “You know what we are resisting. We will not tolerate hate. We will not tolerate harassment. We will not tolerate discrimination.” The rally was followed by performances and speakers. Community members sang about women’s rights. Other performances included dancing from the University of Idaho students.
One of the taglines on the Women’s March website is “we stand in support of all individuals who identify as women and in support of people with all marginalized identities,” a phrase that was spoken locally and at various other marches across America. In Moscow, Idaho, the phrase was printed on posters and was a main tagline on the Women’s March on the Palouse website that Moscow is central to. The Women’s March on the Palouse is overseen by the Moscow area and people come from various parts of the Palouse to participate in this march.
In Moscow, donations of non-perishable items were collected to help federal employees who have experienced food insecurity because of the government shutdown.
On a national level, the Women’s March gathered at the capital. Various speakers included the Director of the National Domestic Workers Alliance, Cecile Richards the president of Planned Parenthood and various celebrities and other humanitarians.
One of the four national co-chairs for the Women’s March Linda Sarsour sent a nationwide email to supporters who pre-registered for the event. In it, she described the timeliness of this march. Sarsour said, “This wasn’t a second too soon, because, right after the Women’s March on Washington Rally ended, Trump went on national television and reiterated his white nationalist agenda to build a wall and continue funding hate.” Sarsour included links to help support the Women’s March’s cause.
The march is set to happen again next year locally and nationally.