The Women's March 2018: Be Seen, Be Heard, Stay Angry

On January 20th, 2018, Chicago will host a second Women’s March. Those who attended the first remember the astounding numbers, miraculously warm weather, and surge of energy across the nation as America’s women stood up and said “we are here and we are angry.” 

So we did it. Our elected leader who bragged about sexual assault and who has made countless denigrating remarks about women is still in charge. Why are we marching again? 

 There is a tendency in any movement for things to lag. People become complacent, they accept their new reality, and think they can make no change. It makes sense that after the draining year that 2017 turned out to be — a year where one could constantly feel buffeted on all sides by waves of racism, misogyny, cruelty, and disregard for the planet — after that exhausting year, why should people come out in January weather to stand in the streets once again and say “We are still here and we are still angry”? 

 The answer is because without that voice, and without that visibility, we are not only saying this is how things are, we are saying that we are fine with that. And leaders see exactly what we are fine with, and they act accordingly. 

The thing is, there weren’t just women in the streets last year. The individuals carrying signs, shouting chants, and marching down Wabash were women, men, and gender non-conforming people, making themselves seen and heard, grabbing the nation’s attention, and uniting groups in ways they had not been before. 

I urge you on Saturday, January 20th, to make your presence known. Make your voice heard, even if it’s one of thousands. Without your voice, we will be quieter. With it, we will be louder, stronger, and more capable of carrying forward the message that this is not normal, this is not who we are as a nation, or as citizens of this world, and we are on a path to making things right, one step at a time.