Protest like your basic rights depend on it because power is taken, never given
Protest like your basic rights depend on it – because power is taken, never given
Jamia Wilson
The arc of change may be long, but we must keep fighting. Shared values can build momentum, shift culture and even influence policy over time
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National Women and Allies protest, New York, USA - 12 Dec 2016Mandatory Credit: Photo by ddp USA/REX/Shutterstock (7555439a) Women and allies in cities across the country unify to demonstrate collective power, and to deliver the message in a unified voice that women are ready to stand against any government action that would serve to erode the rights of women and other vulnerable groups National Women and Allies protest, New York, USA - 12 Dec 2016
‘History has shown us that power is taken, never given, so resistance is critical if we don’t want our freedom eroded.’ Photograph: ddp USA/REX/Shutterstock
Initially, I didn’t plan to attend the Women’s March on Washington, slated for the day after the inauguration. Though a long-time feminist activist and a passionate proponent of nonviolent resistance, I had a long list of reasons I didn’t want to protest on 21 January. At first, I blamed the aftershocks of the terror I felt after realizing that a significant amount of voters willfully chose to affirm hateful rhetoric, xenophobia, corruption and sexually predatory behavior. Then, I reasoned that my concerns about the march’s shaky inception, initial lack of diverse leadership and a permit were not only a hindrance, but a potential deal breaker.
My mom had other ideas. She called on a recent Monday at sunrise. “Get ready for a trip to Washington, DC. We’re going to that women’s march,” she said. Mom was a seasoned activist who marched with Dr Martin Luther King in 1963, survived the Orangeburg Massacre and participated in lunch counter sit-ins during segregation. “The election results illustrate how far we need to go. Let’s get to work.” She’s right. Although the arc of change may be long, I’ve witnessed first-hand how amplifying shared values can build momentum, shift culture and even influence policy over time. Carrying the banner leading 2004’s million-person March for Women’s Lives was my own rite of passage.
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And in the years following that 2004 march, emergency contraception became legal over the counter, more reproductive health and rights organizations integrated intersectional frameworks (with admittedly more work to do), and the Affordable Care Act expanded access to preventative care and contraceptive coverage with no copay. Moreover, we’ve had a pro-choice president for the past eight years, and a trailblazing popular vote winner who famously proclaimed that “women’s rights are human rights”.
And all this happened just in my lifetime. Our foremothers – and my own mother – have been working for decades to set up our recent triumphs. Journalist Ida B Wells insisted on marching with her state in the 1913 Women’s Suffrage Parade, despite the Congressional Women’s Unit’s request that black women march in a segregated group. Joining the likes of Wells is everyone from the women-led Rosenstrasse Protest in 1940s Berlin to the anti-lynching movement that set the stage for the Civil Rights Movement, to the movement for black lives founded by three black women, to the demonstration at Standing Rock. History has repeatedly shown that dissent through direct action matters – especially for those of us non-billionaires who lack the highest levels of political and financial influence.
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Most of all, I hope the reverberation of our voices and those of the people marching in 107 cities worldwide will inspire bystanders to own their power and rise with us. It’s time to earn our generation’s freedom.
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2016/dec/26/protest-march-women-civil-rights
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