It’s an empowering time to be a woman.
This weekend marks the one year anniversary of the Women’s March on Washington and the kickoff to their 2018 agenda. It’s called Power To The Polls, and it’s focused on harnessing the political power of women.
The main event will be held in Las Vegas on Sunday, Jan. 21, but marches are taking place across the country from San Fran to NYC — and if it’s anything like last year, it’ll attract millions.
In fact, people all around the world will be participating. According to the Women’s March Global website, the 2017 march that came just one day after Trump’s inauguration totaled a collective head count of six million on all seven continents.
The Power To The Polls campaign site reads:
“The national voter registration tour will target swing states to register new voters, engage impacted communities, harness our collective energy to advocate for policies and candidates that reflect our values, and collaborate with our partners to elect more women and progressives candidates to office. The coordinated campaign will build upon Women’s March’s ongoing work uplifting the voices and campaigns of the nation’s most marginalized communities to create transformative social and political change.”
Women’s March Global, the sister organization of the U.S.-focused Women’s March Inc., writes on their own site that “while we would like everybody to participate in Women’s March Global Anniversary events in person, we understand that it is not always possible or practical.”
Wherever you are this weekend, if you can’t be there in the flesh, there are still ways to get in on all the action.
Host or join a live stream event
“Not everyone has the means to join the march,” Lara Stein, Executive Director of Women’s March Global, told Metro. “If you can’t march, think about opening up your home.”
Across the globe there will be live streams of the events taking place between Jan. 20 and 21, including the main event in Vegas (which you can view on the Power To The Polls website). So, gather up a group of women (and men alike) and have a viewing party, big or small, at home or elsewhere in your community.
To access more information, go to the Women’s March Global site where you can view a full list of live stream events or register your own.
Women’s March Global says they will be streaming live on Facebook, and knowing people today, there will be similar coverage all over social media.
You can even get someone marching this weekend to FaceTime you during it (if there’s Wi-Fi of course).
Organize conversations
On that same note, Stein said you can join in by organizing discussions (and while you’re at it, you can kill two birds with one stone and watch live streams, too). Invite someone from your community — someone who has an interesting voice, a powerful voice — to speak to a group about the guiding principals of the movement, Stein suggested.
Or, just gather up your closest friends and coop up in your living room to discuss reproductive rights, civil rights, immigrant rights, any issue the Women’s March stands for that you feel passionate or curious about. It can be formal or informal — doesn’t matter.
“Just to have the conversation is important, and to participate in the conversation,” Stein said.
Donate
Another way to get involved is to give donations to the movement.
“Help us bring our collective #PowertoThePolls and, ultimately bring that power into our elected offices,” one of the fundraising sites reads. “Your support will help us fund this effort to change the face of our representation.”
One platform created by Women’s March Inc. has reached just over $47K out of a $450,000 goal. You can donate here as well as on Facebook.
Women’s March Global also has their own fundraising site, with a 10 million dollar goal, which you can access here.
Or, you can think smaller (but of equal importance) and donate to organizations that support women.
Prioritize
“It’s important that women around the world understand that Women’s March was just the beginning, and it’s not a one-time event,” Stein said. “In the next few months, continue to be involved. It’s an important moment in time.”
She said 2018 is another year of “being involved in things that matter to you” in your community because it’s there, in the grassroots, where you can really make a difference.
Stein said that Women’s March Global is in the process of building a platform where communities can connect, talk about what matters to them and share resources.
“With a global movement there isn’t one cause, so it’s important to identify what your priority is,” Stein said. “It’s not a bottom-up or top-down model. The key is having the two come together.”
Attend events afterwards
If you can’t attend the marches themselves, do some research to see if places in your vicinity (or outside of your vicinity) are hosting events in their honor once they conclude.
For example, there’s a whole list of activities — entertainment, social and activism events — happening post NYC Women’s March (details of which you can find out more about on Metro). And who doesn’t love a good after party anyways?
Get the word out
In terms of the year ahead, Women’s March Inc. and Women’s March Global hope to lead a “powerful, inclusive” campaign for change starting from the grassroots up to the global community.
Most importantly, continue to get the word out. Say it loud, say it proud — from the streets or right from your living room sofa.
