Thousands of Georgia women are heading to Washington Saturday for the Women’s March, which expects crowds exceeding 200,000 to rally against what they consider threats to civil and human rights from Donald Trump’s election.
It may be the largest mobilization of Americans to be powered by social media. The march began as an idea tossed out on Facebook by a grandmother in Hawaii. The idea caught fire and spread, as women, disillusioned by the election outcome, found one another on social media and began to plan.
Many women, including most Georgians, are traveling to the march via charter buses. In fact, buses for the march, more than 1,200, far exceed the 397 bringing people to the inauguration Friday. (The bus numbers are based on parking permits.)
The women in the Georgia organizing core were already chartering buses and holding fundraisers before many of them ever met one another in person. Grant Park actress and visual artist Cassidy Russell 29, wanted a way to show that many women “weren’t OK with it.” Across Georgia, a disheartened Courtnay Coco Papy, 31, of Savannah asked herself, “Now, what do I do?” Also yearning for a constructive way to respond, Lyndsay Arrendale, 25, learned a women’s march was planned for Washington and started a Facebook page to see who in Georgia might be interested in participating.
Turns out thousands of people were. While far from the Washington trip they had intended for Hillary Clinton’s inauguration, real estate agent Jeanne Dufort of Morgan County and her wife will be at the march in Washington.
“Why am I going? For me, positive energy. By coming together, we can lift one another and remember this is not the first setback, nor will it be the last. I hope history will see this march as part of a chain of events that affirms America’s consistent movement toward a more just society for all,” Dufort said. “And sometimes you just need to show up.”
To read more about the women showing up, go to MyAJC.com.
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