Women's March 2018 Tallahassee
One year later, supporters still gathered to fight for women’s rights Saturday during the Women’s March anniversary rally in front of the Old Capitol.
It was a much smaller turnout than last year’s Women’s March – about 450 people compared to about 14,000. But attendees at the rally organized by Indivisible Tallahassee still wore their knitted hats, still chanted “this is what democracy looks like” and still held signs calling for President Donald Trump’s impeachment and a push for equal rights. The crowd of mostly women garnered seemingly supportive honks from drivers on Monroe Street but did get a few middle fingers.
“We saw what the conditions were and haven’t seen enough change,” said 18-year-old Dorian Simpkins who held a printed picture of Oprah Winfrey taped to pencils. “We’ve seen a change in mindset, but not in policy. We need for people to hear us and for politicians to hear us and see what’s happening.”
Simpkins came to the march last year with her friend 17-year-old Elsa Meyer. Meyer’s mother and grandmother were at the march in Washington, D.C., and wanted to show representation from home. The two agreed there needs to be more representation of women, something they feel hasn’t improved in the last year.
The rally was an opportunity for Mary Kelsay to see what new movements have popped up in town and who is involved with what.
“I was at the last march and I wanted to feel that community again and get charged up,” 34-year-old Kelsay said. “There’s still a lot more work to do.”
Erin Adams brought her 4-year-old daughter Marley to the march. The two also came to last year’s march, but Adams didn’t feel there had been enough positive change in the last year.
“Our government is making terrible decisions for (Marley’s) future,” Adams said. “We need our voices to be heard.”
The rally didn’t just advocate for women’s rights. Speakers throughout the two-hour rally addressed the environment, gun issues and immigration. They also talked about the “blue wave,” an initiative to elect Democrats and Progressives to public office.
“We’re fighting within the system,” said Kim Armstrong, an organizer with Indivisible Tallahassee.
Armstrong said she and other organizers are optimistic about the upcoming elections since states like Alabama and Wisconsin, both red states, elected Democratic senators in their last elections.
“We need to get people rallied up and get them to vote in the midterms,” Armstrong said.
Contact Ashley White at adwhite@tallahassee.com or on Twitter @AshleyyDi.