Why Millions Marched When It Was Easier To Stay Home

This past Saturday, a movement swept the nation, a movement that has been going on for decades but has recently been revived due to the rhetoric of our new president- the march for Women’s rights. The heart of this march was centered in Washington D.C, however, the passion that american citizens had for this issue spread like wildfire and soon there were sister marches set up all over the world stretching as far as Antarctica; crazy, right? Well, we were two of the millions of people who set out on this march, and hearing all of the stories and even all of the opposition to what we were doing had us wondering: why did people march? It would have been much easier for all of them to sit home on their day off and watch Netflix or go shopping, but instead they laced up their sneakers and walked a few miles. It is apparent that everyone had their own unique reasons, and we set out to uncover them.

#WhyTheyMarched  

Anne Wood

Charlotte, North Carolina March

“I am almost 70 and it was a joy to walk with people my age, older and younger. I felt like I was united with women in standing up for our rights and also with men and women from all walks, races, sexual identity, abilities and faiths in letting our leaders know that we are not going to accept status quo anymore.”

Chelsea Askew

Charlotte, North Carolina March

“#Imarchedfor her. My late grandmother who grew up in a world where she couldn’t report sexual assault. She couldn’t obtain careers or education she wanted. But she raised me to revolt, to accept all walks of life, and to love. Here is to women like her; may we be them. May we raise them.”

Snooze Hamilton and Miles Batty

Charlotte, North Carolina March

“Why? Because it lets the people who falsify and misrepresent information to manipulate the public know they are opposed, and gives that public counter info to compare by.

Because it lets those who are being reduced to second class humans know they aren’t alone and someone cares how they’re treated.

Because it lets the rest of the world know that a whole lot of someones will not sit quietly and demurely by while an overgrown spoiled brat trashes the neighborhood playground.”

Tasha Lewis

Charlotte, North Carolina March

“We marched today for our family. Our twin sons were so proud of their shirts and signs and we felt safe and surrounded by love! Our sons are all we got when there is a dark cloud that looms over us. Plus if we teach them young then they will fight for us when we are too old to fight for ourselves!”

Stephy Hamrick

Charlotte, North Carolina March

“I marched because one of my best friends is undocumented, because I rely on coverage under the Affordable Care Act to treat chronic health conditions that could kill me if untreated, and because my abortion in 2007 saved my life. Because I was there the night that the security guards at Midnite Rodeo on Albemarle Rd denied a trans woman access to the women’s restroom and then, when she was attacked in the men’s, threw her out instead of her assailants. Because Angel Walker, one of the trans women of color murdered in 2015, was from my hometown, and I knew members of her extended family.

So many of us are facing death or having our lives torn apart. How could anyone stand by and watch?”

Caeley Riordan

Charlotte, North Carolina March

“I started to try to write why I marched and I couldn’t think of one particular reason. I marched because it’s the human thing to do. Because the little ones deserve a future where cinnamon rolls are the only “roles” they should have to worry about. Because as a future educator I’m worried about where my career is headed. Because as a woman I want my reproductive rights and the reproductive rights of all other women to be protected. Because women of color and women of the LGBTQ+ community deserve equal representation in our society. Because we need to normalize breastfeeding, and NOT normalize sexual assault. The list goes on. Today was a beautiful and empowering day, but the fight isn’t over. We have to keep marching.”

Colby Stevens

Charlotte, North Carolina March

“I am a Charlotte native and was proud to see our city in a positive light again, with thousands marching peacefully. I marched to send a message to those in government that the people of this country will not stand by if their fellow citizens are denied basic rights and aid. We shall be vigilant from this day forward to give compassion and respect when none is given.”

#WhyWinthropEaglesMarch

Laura Munson

Freshman, IMC Major

Charlotte, North Carolina March

“I marched for my mother, my sister, my girlfriend, my friends who are sexual assault survivors, my trans and gender non-conforming classmates, my black, Hispanic, and Syrian friends, my low-income friends, and for intersectional feminism”

Edie Estes

Sophomore, Art Education Major

Washington D.C. March

“The reason I attended was for the empowerment of women of all shapes and sizes, backgrounds, races, beliefs, and orientations. I also marched for the rights of all women, especially those who are unable to fight for their own rights or those who do not get the proper recognition that all women deserve.”

Dominique Gadsden

Junior, Jewelry + Metals Major

Washington D.C.

“I marched for all the women who believe that enough is enough.”

Carson Carroll

Sophomore, Commercial Photography Major

Washington D.C. March

“I marched to put a stop to the negative connotation of the saying “You run/throw/kick/fight like a girl.””

Neifert Cornejo-Ordonez

Sophomore

Musical Theatre Major

“I marched in Charlotte. I marched because I’m frankly scared of what this administration might do to the rights of women, LGBT, immigrants, and minorities. I want to put my voice out into the world saying that as long I can vote and protest, I will not allow us to go backwards in history.”

Victoria Evans

Senior 

Family and Consumer Science Major

“I wasn’t able to participate in the Women’s March in Charlotte so that afternoon I had a March of my own. I went on a hike because my sex doesn’t define what I choose to do. My love for nature doesn’t make me a “tom boy”… My protest is one that supports the little girls who would rather play in dirt than play with dolls. The little girl who wore jeans instead of dresses because she wanted to get dirty. I am a women that can do any and everything that you would consider masculine and my femininity is my own definition.

‘You are the sum total of everything you’ve ever seen, heard, eaten, smelled, been told, forgot – it’s all there. Everything influences each of us, and because of that I try to make sure that my experiences are positive’

-Maya Angelou.”

#WhyWeMarched

Maggie (Left):

“At first I marched for women’s rights, but the moment my feet hit the pavement in the streets of Charlotte I realized the reason was deeper.  I marched because humans have the capability of love that holds no restrictions. It is our civil duty to spread our love, striving for the end of inequality.   This experience opened my eyes to the potential love has.  We need to start using it more to eliminate hate, blame, and ignorance.  There is fear for the future, due to the new administration in the White House, and this march signified America’s intolerance for immorality in the 21st century.”

Téa (Right):

“I have been passionate about women’s rights a lot longer than your average feminist- back in kindergarten I was constantly outraged by the idea that there had not ever been a women president or that girls weren’t expected to be as smart as boys, and I have always been very adamant about asserting my rights whenever and wherever I please, and this march seemed to fit perfectly into what I believe and what I want this world to look like. However, I feel that this march was infinitely more dire than anything I have done in the past, because it’s not just women’s rights at stake it is the rights of muslims, the rights of people with preexisting conditions, the rights of the press, the rights of people of color, and the rights of the LGBTQ community. I am a strong believer in fighting for what’s right and even though this seemed impossible after November 8th, 2016, there is one quote that I think of every time I feel hopeless: “Never stop believing that fighting for what’s right is worth it”- H.R.C. I marched because I know that this wonderful nation in which I come home will never stop fighting for what’s right, and neither will I. I want to be on  the right side of history.”

Whether you were able to march on January 21st or not, the unity that was shared with over 1 million people on earth was astonishing.  Women, men, children, and even dogs marched together in peace.  This speaks profoundly for the future of our country, and world.  Change is possible, love is present, hope is still in reach.  We can move mountains.  And we WILL.  2017 started out full of uncertainty, but on the 21st day of this year I saw the start of an epic climb.  A climb up a mountain full of obstacles, but with a really life changing view.  Please continue (or start) marching up the mountain: for you sister, mother, daughter, best friend, women everywhere, men everywhere, POC, LGBTQAI+ community, Muslims, Immigrants, and the earth.

Thank you for marching.

Thank you for caring for humanity.

Thank you for being awake.

Thank you for sharing.

Thank you.

#WhyIMarch

-Maggie & Téa

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