The Women’s March will return to the nation’s capital and to hundreds of cities across the country on Saturday. Women’s March will bring thousands of marchers to D.C. and cities nationwide this weekend:
Thousands of people will take to the streets in the middle of a pandemic to protest the Supreme Court nomination of Amy Coney Barrett and to urge Americans to vote President Trump out of office.
In Washington, D.C., organizers expect between 6,000 and 10,000 people to gather on Freedom Plaza for a midday rally focused on voting rights and calling on Congress to suspend the Supreme Court confirmation process, according to a permit issued by the National Park Service on Wednesday. After the rally, participants will march to the U.S. Supreme Court and the U.S. Capitol.
“Women are going to decide this election,” said Rachel O’Leary Carmona, executive director of the Women’s March. “We are fired up. We are ready to take action. This is a preview of what you’re going to see on November 3rd.”
The march will take place days before Senate Republicans hold their first vote to confirm Barrett to replace liberal leader and feminist icon Ruth Bader Ginsburg. Her nomination is expected to be approved by the Senate Judiciary Committee, which is scheduled to vote on Oct. 22. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) told reporters that the full Senate will begin debate on the nominee on Oct. 23.
Saturday’s Women’s March in D.C. is expected to be one of at least 415 marches and events taking place in person and virtually in cities across the country, O’Leary Carmona said. That’s significantly fewer marches than the first Women’s March in 2017, when millions of people flooded the streets in about 700 marches across the country in a historic demonstration protesting Trump’s inauguration.
Unlike during past years’ marches in the nation’s capital, Women’s March leaders are hoping for a relatively smaller crowd in the District because of social distancing concerns. They are discouraging participants from traveling to D.C. from states that are on the self-quarantine list and are not involved in organizing any buses from other cities. Instead, they encourage supporters to attend local marches or to get involved with its “text-a-thon” efforts, O’Leary Carmona said.
Saturday’s rally in Freedom Plaza will feature speakers from the Women’s March organization, the National Women’s Law Center, Planned Parenthood, Black Lives Matter D.C., and a number of other left-leaning feminist organizations. But it will only last about 35 minutes, unlike some of the long rallies of the first few Women’s March events, O’Leary Carmona said. “This is all about the marchers,” she said.
After the rally and march to the Supreme Court, a smaller crowd of about 1,000 people will continue on and march to the Mall for a text-a-thon event to urge women across the country to vote, according to the group’s permit. Organizers and volunteers have already texted 3.5 million women and aim to send 5 million texts in a single day on Saturday, focusing on low-propensity and lower-frequency voters, especially in the 18-to-25 age range, O’Leary Carmona said.
Organizers of the Women’s March said its base is unified in opposition to the Supreme Court nomination despite the fact that she’s a woman.
“I think our marchers understand that this would not be a nominee who would stick up for them and their lives,” said Caitlin Breedlove, deputy executive director of organizational advancement.
Check for local marches on The Women’s March website.
Phoenix Women’s March at 10 a.m. tomorrow at the AZ State Capitol; Tucson Women’s March at Armory Park downtown, also at 10 a.m. Wear pink as usual. Both events on our website:
https://blogforarizona.net/events/