On Saturday, January 21, a wave of women around the world marched; a march declaring that women's rights are rights. Although the main march was located in Washington, D.C., sister marches occurred around the same time in various locations across the globe. The student body at The University of the South: Sewanee created a Facebook page, to organize rides and spread details about this event. Although I could not attend due to previous engagements, Lily Tidwell, a senior at Sewanee, attended the march in Chattanooga, TN.
We met the other day on Sewanee's campus to discuss her opinions and experiences while out of town. Lily estimates that "there were about 40 Sewanee students at the march." Also, a large group of alumni, professors, and administrators joined the current students. In total, about 3,000 persons from across the state marched that day.
The march itself served many different meanings for various persons. For Lily, it was “largely about finding solidarity in the community"; that indecisiveness and fear which is permeating a large number of persons following the election and inauguration day. Countless others are not only baffled by the results of the election but are startled by the fact that racism, sexism, homophobia, xenophobia and similar ills continue to plague our society. However, Lily is hoping that this act of marching will help to demonstrate that these ideologies should not be accepted in America and that it will go on to inspire further action.
Despite the large turnout in Chattanooga, the march was not entirely perfect. Lily felt that the march lacked a sense of inclusivism. She believes that issues facing some minorities, like immigrants, transgender women, and others were not well represented; In other words, intersectionality was not often utilized in this particular event.
With all of this in mind, it is easy for one to say "I carried the burden that they needed to, so I do not have to do it again". I cannot speak much on this since I was not there. But, it should make us realize that there is much more to be done. We can believe that our part was a once in a lifetime chance. Yet, it is not. In the forthcoming hailing of falsified headlines and alternative facts, Lily offered up this piece of advice, "You need to stay informed and analyze the sources," since it is more difficult to separate fact from fiction.
