Oxnard native organizes D.C. women’s march

Jan. 20--The roots of a massive women's march triggered by Donald Trump's inauguration sprawl across the country from Washington, D.C., to the Oxnard neighborhood of Durley Park.

That's where Carmen Perez grew up.

Now she's a high-powered New York City activist, one of four women who as co-chairs put together a Women's March on Washington that is expected to draw hundreds of thousands of people. It happens Saturday, the day after Trump becomes president, and has evolved into an emblem.

The march has spawned some 600 similar events planned across the world, including Saturday gatherings in Los Angeles and Ventura.

Back in Durley Park, between G and J streets, she was just a kid, a tomboy, living in a place known for gangs and explosions of anger.

"There was violence at every corner," she said in a phone interview Thursday, also praising the diversity of the area and the outlet she found in softball, volleyball, track and, maybe most of all, basketball.

She was a shooting guard who played for Pat Bell, the legendary coach who died five years ago from complications of a blood clot. Before every game, the girls joined together in a chant.

"Determination," the Durley Knights yelled. "Dedication. Confidence. Family. Never Give Up."

Perez took it to heart, especially the part about persevering. Her sister, Patricia, died in a one-vehicle accident off Oxnard's Fifth Street at the age of 19. She was buried on Perez's 17th birthday.

"She could have just given up," said Terrel Harrison, who coached her for years alongside Bell. "She used her energy. She became focused and used her strength."

She has always wanted to help people, from the days she was a peer helper in the seventh grade. The loss of her sister became a catalyst that pushed her first to the University of Santa Cruz and a psychology degree, then on a lifelong mission to change the world.

She leads The Gathering for Justice, an organization started by Harry Belafonte to fight racial inequalities in criminal justice and to show the alternatives to incarcerating kids. She helped start the group's youth justice task force, Justice League NYC.

She started youth leadership groups. She's part of the Black Lives Matter movement. In October, she came back home to lead a conference at Oxnard College on youth incarceration. It was called "Growing Up Locked Down."

"She's been at the forefront of huge, huge movements," said Veronica Valadez, a Chicano studies lecturer at CSU Channel Islands. Perez spoke to her class.

"She tells how important it is for young women to find 'femtors,' just strong women they can look up to," Valadez said, explaining 'femtors' is derived from "mentors."

The Saturday event nicknamed the Million Women's March was born on Facebook. Teresa Shook, a retired lawyer, suggested the night of Trump's victory that women gather to send a message on inauguration weekend.

"When she woke up the next morning, there were 10,000 women who were going to march with her," Perez said.

Perez was recruited to help make the march happen as one of the co-chairs. She thinks its evolution into a global movement comes from the opportunity to show that people can come together and fight -- for Muslims, for undocumented people, for reproductive rights.

Perez's family still lives in Oxnard. They'll be marching in Los Angeles on Saturday.

Perez will be in D.C. for a march that falls on her 40th birthday -- the anniversary of her sister's burial. She'll be thinking about girls growing up in places like Durley Park.

"We are not silent," she said. " I want young girls to know they are powerful. They are necessary and they can become the leaders of the next generation."

Harrison has known her since she was 10. Even then, she was determined.

"Carmen is a leader for civil rights," he said of her role in the march. "I expect her to do great things. It makes me very happy for her. But at this point in her career, it is no surprise."

Sharon Rasey, 77, once an office manager in a construction business, only knows what she's read about Perez. Come Saturday, she'll be somewhere near her, marching in a sea of people in D.C.

The Camarillo woman will be there with her daughter because she sees the march as a statement that rights will not go away, will not be pushed backward. If she ends up carrying a sign, she hopes it says "We're moving forward."

And if she gets a chance to meet Perez, her message will be simple.

"You go, girl," she said.

Saturday marches

Ventura: 10 a.m., beginning at Plaza Park, 651 E. Thompson Blvd., Ventura

Los Angeles: 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., with the march beginning at 10 a.m at Pershing Square.

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