March on, ladies | The Triangle

March on, ladies

Comic by Alexander Gray

Jan. 21, 2017, thousands of people flocked to Washington, and many other thousands gathered in across the country to march and bring awareness to the inequality and challenges facing women across the globe. The march came in part as a response to the election of President Trump, and was conducted the day following his inauguration. For the past year, the merits and pitfalls of the march have been discussed, but it has doubtless been seen as an historically powerful event.

This year, a rally event being organized by Women’s March Inc. is being led by a main rally at Sam Boyd Stadium in Las Vegas, Nevada. The state was chosen, according to the leaders of the March, partly because of very important midterm elections coming up in the state this year that are predicted to be able to have a heavy influence on the Senate depending on the results. Additionally, the state was home in this past year to the country’s deadliest mass shooting. The theme for the Rally this year is “Power to the Polls,” and the emphasis falls on accruing funding and support for politicians that wish to run in favor of women’s rights in this country, including related feminist issues such as LGBTQ rights, Black Lives Matter, abortion rights, and accessible health care. In the past year, Women’s March Inc. has hosted several social justice events and rallies to continuously bring these issues to light across the country.

Leaders of the organization Women’s March Inc. are made up of an inclusive board that includes “black women, black trans women, latinx women, trans community members, indigenous people, dreamers, sex workers and allies” according to its Facebook page. Other organizations have also emerged in the wake of the 2017 Women’s March, including March On, an active group in many red states also advocating for political change.

The March last year spurred a chain of events that is still unfolding. At the recent Golden Globes event, many Hollywood actresses and actors could be seen wearing all black and a “Time’s Up Now” pin in support of a new coalition raising money for a legal defense fund for victim of sexual harassment and abuse, which formed in response to a letter of solidarity from the National Farmworker Women’s Alliance. Additionally, the #METOO movement found new momentum this past fall after being started ten years ago by Tarana Burke. From this came TIME magazine’s nomination of several women as the “person” of the year, calling them the “silence breakers” against sexual assault. The spotlight has definitely been trained to the women’s rights revolution in this past year, and for good reason.

Still, today, whether seen or unseen, women disproportionately face discrimination, domestic violence, and sexual abuse. Trans women, and women of color especially, fall into some of the most underrepresented and most abused groups in the country. Even a year after this apparent revolution has begun, there is still so much work to be done, so many groups to be brought into the circle of inclusivity that has started to widen, and so many issues to address. Luckily, we seem to be getting started.

For those of us at The Triangle, we stand with and support all women everywhere in their right to speak out against injustices against them. We also stand with all minorities who face social injustice in our current political climate. For our part, we promise to continue providing honest, unfiltered journalism to you, our readers, in the hopes that through our work we may invite and enact positive change on our campus, in our community, and eventually in the country as a united whole.