By Erica Chayes Wida, Packet Media
The Women’s March on Washington bands together thousands to show that women’s rights are human rights. On Jan. 21, the day after the Trump administration takes office, women and anyone of any gender or gender identity who believes in the cause, plan to march through Washington, D.C., to send a message about advocacy, identity and human rights., “In the spirit of democracy and honoring the champions of human rights, dignity, and justice who have come before us, we join in diversity to show our presence in numbers too great to ignore,” the Women’s March official web page reads., Strengthening its numbers even more, sister women’s marches have been organized in 170 towns throughout the United States and nearly 300 globally., “The groundswell has been inspirational and the idea that there’ll be those of us in Trenton, but at the same time there’ll be people rallying for the same cause in Washington, and I think hundreds of other places across country, it makes what were doing here feel more important and connected to a real movement,” said Princeton Mayor Liz Lempert, who will be participating her first Women’s March in Trenton on Saturday., Mayor Lempert found out about the sister march in Trenton and thought it was a wonderful idea for those who would have liked to be in Washington, D.C., but may have not been able to travel there., “It is going to be more important than ever that people will stand up and be vocal about things important to them, and to use our collective voice to make a strong statement,” she said., The Women’s March on New Jersey will begin at 10 a.m. on Jan. 21 at the Trenton War Memorial. The speaking program, to start at 10 a.m., features keynote speakers civil rights icon Edith Savage-Jennings; Congresswoman Bonnie Watson Coleman; Luanne Peterpaul, chairman of Garden State Equality’s Political Action Fund; Dr. Dalia F. Fahmy, assistant professor of political science at Long Island University at Brooklyn; Congressman Donald Norcross; Diana Mejia, co-founder of Wind of Spirit immigrant resource center; Assemblywoman Pamela Lampitt; and Assemblywoman Elizabeth Muoio., Participants will march a half mile to the steps of the State House where they will take a People’s Pledge and hear a call to action. The event is expected to end around 1 p.m., “This is about trickle down bigotry,” said Elizabeth Meyer, founder of the Women’s March on New Jersey, in a release. “Our America is great. On Jan. 21, we will be here, in Trenton, to make it greater. We will move forward, not backward.”, Assemblywoman Angela McKnight, Democrat, continued, “Women have struggled. We bear children. We take care of families. We take care of friends. We are fighters. So, when we march in New Jersey, we march as one. We will not be a chess move.”, The march’s organizers emphasize this is not an act of solidarity meant only for women, but for everyone looking to join in a peaceful stance for what is right. It is a rally, not a protest., “This march is for everybody. We need men as fathers, grandfathers, sons, brothers, uncles, and nephews to stand up and say these rights are not just for one sex. These are human rights and this is about ensuring there is equality under the law,” said Doug O’Malley, director of Environment New Jersey., The Women’s March on New Jersey is free and open to the public. Because it is meant to be a peaceful rally, family members are welcome. All participants are invited to wear purple as a symbol of dignity and unity, and because it was one of a trio of colors chosen by suffragists in the United States and England., Doors open at the Trenton Memorial at 9 a.m. Registration is encouraged for headcount and seating but is not required. For more information, visit https://sites.google.com/view/womensmarchonnewjersey.
