Thousands at Women’s March in Charlotte:
‘Fired up, ready to go’
by Ann Doss Helms and Lavendrick Smith, Charlotte Observer, Jan 21, 2018
A crowd estimated at more than 5,000 people filed into uptown Saturday for the second annual Women’s March in Charlotte.
They packed into First Ward Park to hear two hours of speakers, then marched through uptown. Waving their signs and hoisting a banner, they chanted phrases such as, “Fired up, ready to go,” as they walked.
Donning their signature knitted pink hats with kitten ears (playing on the vulgar phrase made famous by President Donald Trump’s “Access Hollywood” tape) they hoisted signs with messages such as, “In our house, we believe women’s rights are human rights” and “science is real.”
Marches and rallies also took place in hundreds of U.S. cities and towns, from New York and Washington, D.C., to Raleigh and Asheville. The New York times reported that women’s marches also took place in Rome; Frankfurt, Germany, Kampala, Uganda and Osaka, Japan.
Many in Charlotte came early enough to hear speakers extol the value of working together and the importance of turning out to vote.
“We must support each other,” said organizer Regina Stone-Grover. “The struggles are hard. That’s why we’re here today.”
“There is an indescribable power that comes when the huddled masses come together for the common good,” said Charlotte City Council member LaWana Mayfield, who talked about looking out at a “beautiful rainbow” of people.
Carolyn Logan, a speaker from the Black Women’s Caucus of Charlotte-Mecklenburg, called on women to support each other in the workplace and resist harassment of all kinds. “Don’t let this movement die,” she told the crowd. “Stand up. Speak up.”
Charlotte Mayor Vi Lyles, who was also a speaker, tweeted, “#CLTWomensMarchready. WE are the ones we’ve been waiting for. The time is now.”