By Julia Berkman
Note: Organizers of the march use the term “womxn” to include femme people of any gender.
Unlike the day of President Trump’s inaugural address, the sky shone blue for the Womxn’s March on Bellingham. There was even a rainbow in the sky. If you believe in a God, or fate, a rainbow is a pretty clear sign of approval. The people of Bellingham turned out in droves for the one-mile march across downtown.
The idea to march for equality following the inauguration was originally conceived in Hawaii by Theresa Shook, who inspired the eventual chairs of the March to act. Linda Sarsour, Bob Bland, Tamika Mallory, Carmen Perez and Vanessa Wruble became the head chairs of the Womxn’s March on Washington (D.C., not WA).
Notably, Wruble was the organizer who decreed that the event should not be headed by white womxn alone. The addition of Sarsour, Mallory and Perez was both a conscious and rewarding decision. It benefited the March to bring as many perspectives as possible, as tends to be the case for organizations of all kinds.
From the march in Washington D.C., the event spread like wildfire throughout the country, and then the world, with people setting up large marches in their own cities. The fever even spread as far from D.C. as Bellingham, where 10,000 people showed up to the event, which started in front of City Hall.
The March on Bellingham began with a minute of silence for all those who are and will continue to be affected by the new administration. After that, speeches were made by several activists and advocates. The masses stretched from the front of City Hall down the streets on either side of the public library. Almost everyone had signs, hats or both. Young and old, everyone came together in support of furthering intersectional Womxn’s Rights.
“So many people marched in Bellingham today that when we reached the end of the 1.1 mile march, there were still people lined up to stay marching,” said participant Selah Tay-Song.
While this was a march of empowerment, participants couldn’t help but rag on the new president as well. Signs describing Trump’s temperament and tiny hands were just as common as signs of womxn’s liberation. After all, the man and the legislature he commands are inextricably intertwined.
Trump, along with his cabinet, has already issued an executive order to defund and shut down the Affordable Care Act, a decision that will affect millions of Americans trying to stay healthy. Since womxn’s reproductive health is considered elective by some people, most pre-existing conditions and “elective surgeries”—such as hormone replacement therapy and abortions—are no longer covered under the ACA.
Planned Parenthood, one of the main supporters affiliated with the march, was also heavily represented by the participants. The march was awash with neon “I Stand with Planned Parenthood” signs. Even the bright pink hats were a nod to Planned Parenthood’s signature color.
Planned Parenthood faces imminent defunding under the new administration, meaning it will be publically funded for the most part. This could keep Planned Parenthood from performing procedures or prescribing medications on their sliding scale, which provides lower prices for lower-income folks. There’s also a chance that defunding may put Planned Parenthood out of business indefinitely. In any case, the organization’s supporters were instrumental in the arrangement of the march.
Unfortunately, no politically-charged event is perfect. The march, with its national turnout in the millions and no violence, seems like it came close. However, some people had complaints.
Activists of Color, notably ones affiliated with the Black Lives Matter movement, were also perturbed with the acceptance of the police presence at the march. While the white womxn protesting shook hands and took selfies with the police, Black Lives Matter rallies have been met with strong police opposition over the years. BLM members felt that the symbiosis with the police at the march was hypocritical and spoke to the inherent racism of the United States’ criminal justice system.
“The high-fives of cops at the Womxn’s March and the blows raining down on BLM are the front and back of the same hand,” said Guardian columnist Jess Zimmerman.
The same was true in Bellingham, where, the day before the March, Western students gathered in Red Square to show their displeasure for the new administration. Despite having a turnout of roughly 80 students, I saw more police there than I ever saw at the March downtown. Many believe that, just as more than half of white womxn voted for Trump, most white womxn support the police, thereby no arrests befall them.
The Womxn’s March in Bellingham, despite being organized by people of color, was notably one of the less racially diverse. This is probably because Bellingham is estimated to be about 85% white. Despite these statistics, organizers were very clear on their intent to show solidarity to those underrepresented in the march.
“The mission is to march in solidarity to lift up the voices of the most marginalized among us, recognizing that they will be the most affected by the new administration,” said Erica Littlewood Work, one of the organizers for the March, in an interview with the Western Front.
Others voiced dissent about the plethora of vagina-centric posters and signs, arguing that not all womxn have vaginas. That point was made by many of the activists present. Trans people and their allies were very concerned about the presence of TERFs (trans-exclusionary radical feminists), who argue that trans womxn are still men taking up a female space. That disrespectful notion was enforced by the vagina-centric propaganda at the march.
However, while a vagina-centric dialogue is definitely transphobic and should have been acknowledged as such, the uterus and vagina are still far more legislated than the body of a biological male. It is both possible and necessary to acknowledge both of those sentiments simultaneously and without exclusion.
The Womxns’ March on Bellingham was the largest demonstration in Bellingham to date. People of all colors, creeds and ages came together to share a powerful message, which was summed up nicely by actress America Ferrera, who spoke at the D.C. March: “The president is not America. His cabinet is not America. Congress is not America. We are America. And we are here to stay.”
ABOVE: Over 10,000 people congregate, with signs and passionate attitudes, near City Hall to await the start of the march. Photo by Morgan Annable // AS Review