Frederick Women’s March promotes diversity, inclusion

Jan. 28--The fight for recognizing women's rights in the United States, and around the world, continues, with the movement seeing support in Frederick on Sunday afternoon.

Around 300 people marched along Carroll Creek Linear Park -- carrying signs and waving flags -- for the third annual Frederick Women's March. The speaker lineup for the event featured women who are advocates on issues related to transgender rights, religious freedom, indigenous people, gun control, immigration and Palestinian rights.

Krishanti O'Mara Vignarajah, former policy director for First Lady Michelle Obama and senior advisor for Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, said that the 2018 "Year of the Woman" in which a record number of women ran for public office was something to be celebrated. But there is still a lot of work to do for women to have equal value in society, she said.

"Let's cheer 2018 as the 'Year of the Woman,'" Vignarajah said. "But I want 2019 to be the 'Year of the Woman.' I want 2020 to be the 'Year of the Woman.' I want 2021 to be the 'Year of the Woman.' I want every year until we reach not just parity but our full power."

During her speech, Vignarajah said marches like the one in Frederick are important because they create the kind of unity needed to bring social change.

Aisha Mershani used her speech to underline the need for a global perspective on women's rights, including the treatment of Palestinians by the Israeli government. There are inequalities that goes beyond gender -- such as race, religion, national origin -- that must be stopped, Mershani said.

"To only work against a singular oppression is to miss the powers of activism. We must work together for a sake of a global liberation," Mershani said.

The speaker lineup was a way to lift up the diversity of women in Frederick County, said Jessica Kent, who helped organize the march with the Women's Coalition for Action.

"We really want to use this platform we've created and this event to lift up the voices of people who might not always get media coverage," Kent said in an interview with The Frederick News-Post before the march.

Other speakers at the rally included Terri Frances, Flor Garay, Laurelle Maubert, Tara Treacy and Fatima Younis.

The Women's Coalition for Action, a local organization, organized the march this year for the first time. The Frederick march was originally scheduled for last Sunday but was postponed because of weather.

The march moved along Carroll Creek this year after the mayor and city board denied the organizers the monetary support necessary to pay law enforcement to close down the streets. In previous years, the march moved through city streets before ending at the park.

Helen Clark, 61, said she came to the march to oppose the bigotry of the current presidential administration and its anti-LGBTQ policies. Vice President Mike Pence's discrimination against the LGBTQ community is particularly troubling, she said, because she has a gay child.

Coming together to march as a group gives her hope, although the lack of progress on women's rights can be troubling, Clark said.

"I'm 61 years old and I was in a feminist group in my high school in the 70s and we're still dealing with the same issues," she said.

Sophie Desler, 15, said the recent government shutdown related to President Donald Trump's proposed border wall and recent rollbacks in abortion rights motivated the design of her poster. Desler marched along Carroll Creek on Sunday holding a sign with a drawing of a uterus that read, "Shed Walls Don't Build Them."

Several women at the march said they found hope in the number of women who ran for election in 2018, and the record number of them who won seats in Congress.

Ginger Belmonte, 22, said she designed her sign in support of transgender people, especially after President Trump banned transgender people from serving in the U.S. military. The ban was allowed last week by the U.S. Supreme Court.

"I think anybody -- no matter race, age or anything -- if they're willing to protect me and my country, they should be allowed to," Belmonte said.

A series of workshops on engagement held last weekend were used to turn the energy of the local movement into collaborative, civic action, Kent said.

The Frederick News-Post reporter Mallory Panuska contributed to this report.

Follow Wyatt Massey on Twitter: @News4Mass.

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