Most of you
have heard about the Unite Women marches
that took place all around the country this past Saturday, with a final
headcount of 47,000. What you may not know is the invaluable part National Organization for Women (NOW) played
in organizing the actions nationwide. As soon as you visit the http://unitewomen.org/unite/ site, the
first picture is of the Action Alert NOW sent to our wide network of feminist
supporters to join Unite Women. Want to keep the momentum going? Join
your local chapter of NOW.
Please find
below some examples of NOW members’ participation across the nation – in the
press and in their own words. Within the
photos and videos, look for the NOW rounds that say “Keep Abortion Legal,” “End
Violence against Women,” and more.
Press coverage:
Montgomery, Alabama's WOW Rally was a great success.
We estimate 300-400 folks came out to support the effort. Many
original thoughts on home made signs, 25 speakers, music, chanting and
great weather. Our speakers included state senators (male & female),
civil rights icons, and a few GOP women. We also had a
voter registration table.
Alaska
Press coverage:
We had a great turnout
for our rally yesterday, probably three hundred enthusiastic people, mostly
women but with a good representation of men who care.
Media:
Arizona
Press coverage:
AZ Unite Women is
hoping to attract more than 500 people to the rally, scheduled to feature
several speakers including local politicians and representatives from the
National Organization for Women.
California
Press coverage:
Organized
with the help of NOW member, Somer Leon,
the California
version of Unite ROCKED. As hundreds gathered in Sacramento on the steps of the capital
building, the recording of her "I'm Not Afraid," was stopped when the
legendary Holly Near took the microphone – the lively rally started in song. NOW speaker Pat
Maginnis reflected her eyewitness accounts of life under abortion
criminalization. Mona Lisa Wallace of
NOW
received rowdy cheers when reporting ecofeminist legislative and political
victories, including the successful California Safe Cosmetics Act and the
recent gathering of 850,000 signatures to put Label GMO on the California ballot.
Speakers decried Governor Jerry Brown's recent proposal to eliminate the
California Commission on the Status of Women and cut the budgets of the Offices
of Women's Health and Women's Health Equality.
Pamela Parker rocked the crowd singing: "The Power of N.O.W. (free
download at FeministMusic.com) while the crowd roared. The rally marched to Fremont Park
where more music and speakers gathered in a sunny festival setting, complete
with children frolicking in a fountain, face painting, henna tattoos, nutritious
and delicious food, and educational tables by: NOW, Planned Parenthood,
World Can't Wait, SlutWalk, CodePink, Grandmothers for Peace and more.
Connecticut:
Press coverage:
We had an
excellent rally at the state capitol yesterday in Connecticut. I loved the woman in the
colonial dress and bonnet who said, "When you enforce morality, you get Salem."
Senator Blumenthal - a great supporter of women's issues - spoke about
defeating the war on women.
District of Columbia:
Activists
gathered in Washington, D.C. to rally for equal opportunities, equal
rights, and equal representation. Many
other marches and rallies occurred simultaneously all across the U.S. Speakers included NOW National Action Vice
President Erin
Matson.
Media:
Ø Blog1
Ø Blog2
Ø
Flicker
Florida:
Florida
held rallies in Tallahassee, Orlando,
St Petersburg and Ft. Lauderdale.
Press coverage:
Ft.
Lauderdale:
Press coverage:
“Our rights, our health, our very existence is under
attack,” said Meredith Ockman, president of the National Organization for
Women's Palm Beach
County chapter. The movement Saturday was non-partisan, she
said.
“The whole point is to fight the war on women with our
allies,” Ockman said.
Those allies included men like Matthew McWatters,
legislative director for NOW in Palm
Beach County.
He said he stood in support of women and on behalf of his
mother, grandmother and 7-year-old niece, Kayla.
“I want her to grow up in a world where she's in a level
playing field with someone who is a man,” he said.
Despite the threatening rains and noise of the South Florida
Air Show, the United against the War on Women Rally was a success! We had
about 200 women and men to support our efforts and an incredible line-up!
The speakers included:
I.
FL NOW VP and Palm Beach County
NOW President Meredith
Ockman
II.
Palm
Beach County
NOW
Legislative Director Matthew McWatters
III.
Broward NOW President Joanne Sterner
IV.
Democratic Women's Club President (and
one of our own NOW members) Maggie Davidson
Media:
Ø
YouTube
Orlando:
Press coverage:
Coordinated by Bonni Axler, Florida NOW Secretary, about 250 women, men and children
came out to the Senator
Beth Johnson
Park. Some of the speeches:
Media:
Ø
Toni Van Pelt, NOW Northeast Regional
Director’s speech
Powerful Women Joining Forces: “Women are joining forces
to halt the tidal wave of male dominated backlash in the halls of Congress
and State Legislatures. We are pushing
back and moving forward demanding our human rights and freedom from unwanted
intrusions in our right to privacy and happiness.”
Ø
Dominique Gelin of UCF NOW’s speech on
YouTube
Tallahassee:
Press coverage:
Tallahassee Coordinator and NOW member Diane Wilson
announced today, “Women
and men who support women will gather on the steps of the Old Capitol from 12
to 2 pm on Saturday, April 28th to stand for women’s rights.” Wilson said, “UNITE Women is calling on
Americans to join together and denounce ongoing legislative and political at
tacks on women from the extreme right, while honoring the diversity and
continued fight for the freedom of women to choose their own destinies.”
Tallahassee rally partners included Florida
NOW, with Donna
Slutiak,
Florida
NOW President, giving a dynamic speech.
Tallahassee FL NOW member Diane Wilson
was the main organizer, doing everything from obtaining the permit for the
march to contacting organizations to come speak at the event, and emceeing the
rally.
Media:
Ø Tumblr
St Petersburg:
St Petersburg speakers included BJ Star, NOW member and founder-president of Equal Rights Alliance Inc and ERA Education Inc. Sandy Oestreich, President West Pinellas NOW, and
West Pinellas NOW member Mary Freeman.
Media:
Ø
YouTube
Kansas:
Press coverage:
(TOPEKA, Kan.) — A group of about 400 Kansas
women (and some men) descended on the Kansas
Statehouse. "Today's rally was part
of a national movement that has had enough of the war on women," rally
organizer Kari Ann Rinker says. Rinker
is state coordinator for the National Organization for Women. She says Kansas women are under
assault by laws and policies that impact what she calls "reproductive
rights." "What we can do is
organize at a grassroots level and bring public awareness to these
atrocities," Rinker says.
The Kansas chapter
of the National Organization for Women organized a rally at the state
capitol April 28. The Kansas march was one of more than 40 across
the nation as part of the Unite
Women movement put on by the We Are Woman (sic) organization.
The march was
organized “in response to the GOP’s war on women,” Kari Ann Rinker, state
coordinator of the Kansas
NOW chapter, said.
Louisiana
Press coverage:
Maryland
Media:
Ø
Twitter
@HollaBackBmore We met @NationalNOW president Terry
O'Neill! Amazing things happen when women get together. #UAWOW @WOW_MD http://ow.ly/i/AWVV
Ø
Facebook
Minnesota
About 300
people gathered in St. Paul
to stand for women's rights in areas such as: reproduction, abortion,
contraception, health care, LGBT equality, workers rights, and rape victim
rights. This was one of many nation-wide
events called "Unite Against the War On Women.” Minnesota
State Senator Sandra Pappas (DFL SD-65) spoke at the event, and then returned
to the capitol where the legislature was in session.
Media:
Missouri
Press coverage:
In Missouri,
nearly 300 people participated in a protest in Jefferson City on the front lawn of the state
capitol.
The group criticized
laws currently floating in the General Assembly that could limit contraceptive
requirements, roll back anti-discrimination rules, and require photo
identification for voters.
“With record
legislation attacking women’s rights across the country, hundreds of Missouri
men and women joined together in Jefferson City to say, ‘Enough is Enough’,”
said (NOW member) Courtney Cole, the Missouri event’s organizer. “Missouri
participants joined thousands mobilized to work against the war on women.”
The issue of women’s
rights has reemerged this year on the campaign trail. Democrats are trying to court women on the
issue of contraceptive rights and other social issues, while Republicans are
trying to earn the women’s vote by targeting economic and family issues.
Speakers slated to
appear include …Missouri
National Organization for Women (NOW) Vice-President Claire Major.
Montana:
Excellent
presence by Montana
NOW's Marian Bradley. Over 300 people participating with wonderful music,
inspiring speeches, lots of tabling and other calls to activism and voter
registration! Contact
Montana NOW to keep the momentum rocking & rolling. Thanks so
much and let's take back our country!
New Jersey:
Press coverage:
NEW YORK (AP) — Hundreds of protesters have
marched in New York City
against what they say are setbacks to equal rights and reproductive rights for
women.
Saturday's march
against the "war on women" was one of dozens around the country.
Protesters marched
from Washington Square
down Broadway to Foley Square.
They chanted "Not
the church, not the state, women must control their fate."
·
Marcia
G. Yerman website
Rep. Carolyn Maloney
invoked the names of New York feminist forebearers such as Elizabeth Cady
Stanton and Jane Hunt before saying, “We have to pass the Equal Rights Amendment. NOW has been working on the ERA
since its inception.
Press coverage:
The 'Unite Against the War on Women' rally was held at Halifax
Mall in downtown Raleigh, next to the NC Legislature buildings.
Hundreds of people (mostly women) gathered on the lawn with
signs including many homemade signs. Ten speakers were scheduled and a band started us off. Many
spoke of the rough year with a General Assembly passing whatever
bills it wanted - most hurting women and families, and also about
encouraging signs for future.
Oklahoma:
Press coverage:
NOW, Trust Women
(Julie Burkhart), League of Women Voters, and many other groups were there.
Women's rights
demonstrators rally at Oklahoma
Capitol
Benham was among more
than 250 protesters Saturday at the state Capitol.
(Look at the NOW.org balloon on the bottom left
of the photo)
Oregon:
About
300-500 people showed up to Oregon's,
with great feedback at our table. We had
some great women leaders and candidate speeches, including the NOW supported
Congressional Rep. Suzanne Bonamici, our wonderful Secretary of State Kate
Brown, and a great candidate for state AG, Ellen Rosenblum.
Pennsylvania
Press coverage:
·
PennLive
About 300 people, a
mostly female audience, gathered on the state Capitol steps for four hours
today as part of a national grassroots movement called United against the War
on Women.
The rallies were held
as a show of strength against recent threats to women’s rights on issues
ranging from reproductive to economic and human rights.
“We can’t sit back and
take it anymore. We can’t sit back and
allow them to erode our lives,” said Julia
Ramsey, president of Pennsylvania NOW.
Ramsey, one of about
two dozen speakers at the Harrisburg rally, encouraged women in the crowd to
speak to their female friends and family and spread the message about fighting
back.
“This is a war against
us and it affects all of us,” she said.
Virginia
Press coverage:
It was a movement, not
a moment, in Richmond, Virginia, where 300 protesters reminded lawmakers that they were neither
forgiving nor forgetting the legislature's decision to force women seeking
pregnancy terminations to undergo mandatory vaginal ultrasounds.
“Women are powerful —
despite the way we are treated and what we are told,” said Victoria Bragunier,
president of the Richmond
chapter of the National Organization of Women.
Media:
Keep abortion legal. She fought 40 years ago, she's fighting today
Washington State:
Press coverage:
…between three and
four hundred people of all ages, genders and backgrounds were in attendance. I even spotted a group of teenaged boys! There were a multitude of homemade signs
being waved about. Some of the more
creative ones made statements like, “Corporations are people. Women, not so much,” “Bra Burning Is Over” or
“Women Need All the Support They Can get.”
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