Women’s Marches in San Diego, North County focus on inclusion

San Diego Union-Tribune (CA)

Jan. 19--Before they began this year, Kumeyaay elder Virginia Christman led a blessing and prayer of gratitude to the Kumeyaay people on whose land she said thousands of women were about to march.

It wasn't the giant collective roar or call to action of years past, but this year's Women's March San Diego was a gentle reminder that women come from all different backgrounds.

"To the girls. Please, do not let anyone abuse you," Christman prayed. "Please, do not let anyone hurt you."

Twelve-year-olds Farah Jiménez and Ximena Fierro listened intently from the crowd.

Any concerns about fading enthusiasm or controversy at a national level did not overshadow the spirit of thousands in San Diego who danced, rallied and marched together Saturday in the name of women's rights.

At Waterfront Park, the third annual Women's March San Diego focused on inclusion and combating violence against women.

"Today, I march for my nieces and for my godchildren and for all the children in my community because they deserve a future filled with opportunities," said keynote speaker Nora Vargas, a governing board member at Southwestern Community College.

San Diego police placed crowd estimates around 20,000, which is down from last year's event estimated at 30,000 people.

But the dip in numbers was not reflected by a dip in intensity, many attendees said.

"There was all this talk about was there still the enthusiasm from previous years," said Taylor Deal. "This was more about the message. But it was just as big as other marches. It was awesome."

Some carried signs advocating for equal pay and abortion rights, while others referred to the #MeToo movement.

One sign read: "My arms are tired from holding this sign since the 1960's," reflecting on how long women have been fighting for equal rights.

The march also carried a heavy anti-Trump overtone. A popular sign read: "Off with his thumbs," with a picture of President Donald Trump, in reference to the leader's frequent use of Twitter.

At a national level, organizers are facing allegations of anti-Semitism. Organizers for Women's March San Diego said the local group is a completely different organization than the national one with separate finances and different events.

"We condemn antisemitism and any form of race or religion-based hate and will continue to work toward a more positive and just future," the local organizers said in a statement about the allegations.

The line-up of speakers reflected the organizers' effort at inclusion, and attendees took note.

Speakers included Mejgan Afshan, the advocacy and policy coordinator for the Council on American-Islamic Relations; Priya Bhat-Patel, a newly elected Carlsbad City Council member; Lucero Camarena, a transgender Latina graduate of University of California San Diego; and JoAnn Fields, a co-director for Women's March San Diego who spoke about being a voice for Filipino and Asian Pacific Islanders in the region.

"The woman we posses as a transgender woman is just as sacred and just as valid as any of our gender sisters here today," said Camarena to loud cheers. "We as transgender and non-binary people have every right to be front and center in this movement. We are stronger together."

Tasha Williamson, founder of the Compassion Project which supports families when they lose a loved one to violence, spoke about the need to avoid exclusion in the women's movement and announced her bid for San Diego mayor.

"We need to be sure we aren't doing things to exclude people who look like me," said Williamson, who is a leader in the black community.

She added: "I want to ask each one of you to support black people. ... I also want to say when there is no politician that represents you, become one."

Attendees said the variety of speaker programming was their favorite part of the march.

"I like the diversity and the attempt to include different voices because I think an element of the women's movement has been exclusivity lately, but it's nice to see so much inclusion," said Brianna Brawley, a UC San Diego student.

Paulina Patiño, a 16-year-old from Chula Vista, said her favorite part was learning about how the land belonged to indigenous people.

David Feld, 38, from downtown San Diego, said he was thrilled to see that the national "negativity didn't keep any people away."

Earlier in North County, about 1,000 people marched in Oceanside before many boarded trains and buses to participate in the San Diego event.

In her welcoming remarks at the North County Women's March, Oceanside City Councilwoman Esther Sanchez noted that Oceanside "still has had only one councilwoman in most of the last 18 years. There is still a lot of work that has to be done and continues to be done."

She congratulated women who had won seats in November to various North County city councils, mirroring a national wave of women recently elected to public office.

"We went from only two Latina (city councilmembers) in North County to five," she added. "Five!"

Encinitas Mayor Catherine Blakespear said on this weekend before Martin Luther King Jr. Day, women across the country are fighting for the same principles of unity King was fighting for. "Justice, progress, advocacy, shared humanity, equality for all. And we do not tolerate hate speech, bigotry, white supremacy, racism, misogyny, anti-Semitism, homophobia, Islamophobia, transphobia or any other form of hatred."

There was one dissenter in the crowd, a 62-year-old Oceanside man named Sean Colgan, who carefully wandered through the gathering near the speakers wearing a red "Make America Great Again" hat, a "Trump Motorcycle guy" button and carrying a "Defund Planned Parenthood" sign.

Everywhere he went Colgan was quickly surrounded by women who put their own signs in front of his to block his message, then argued with him.

Colgan said he was spreading his message amidst a contrarian crowd because "someone has to stand up for the little itty-bitty human beings they don't mind killing. Today it is me."

A group of anti-abortion protesters also engaged with the San Diego marchers, with brief exchanges yelled back and forth from the protesters' perch near Pacific Highway and Ash Street.

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