Women in the United States have been marching for their rights since the early 1900s. In 1911, Alice Paul, the founder of the radical women’s rights organization the National Women’s Party, organized a mass suffrage demonstration. In 1913, a suffrage parade was held on the eve of Woodrow Wilson’s inauguration as President. Picket lines in 1916 and 1917 eventually led to the ratification of the 19th Amendment in 1920, but the fight for women’s rights is long from over.
Reminiscent of the suffrage parade in 1913, a women’s march was held in Washington D.C on January 21, 2017, the day after the inauguration of Donald Trump, with sister marches held around the world. The marches were sparked by a dislike for many statements and opinions voiced the current president, considered by many to be misogynistic, racist, and otherwise offensive. Since that year, women’s marches have been held at similar times every year, including one in Andover on January 18th, 2020.
When I arrived, with my friend and my mother, there were six other individuals present. At the event’s peak, there were about a hundred women and men of all ages present holding signs and making their voices heard. The event was more of a protest than a march, the group stood on both sides of a crowded intersection and held signs for passing cars to read. Some signs said things like “Let Boys Cry,” “The Future is Female,” “Fear the Diva,” “Nevertheless She Persisted,” and “Turn off Fox News.”
Protesters hold signs for passing cars to read
IMG-9858.movI spoke with Molly Beams, one of the founders of the Indivisible chapter in Andover and organizer of the event. Beams discussed returning home after the Women’s March in 2017, and wanting to make a difference. She helped found a local chapter of Indivisible, an organization that self proclaims their mission as cultivating a grassroots movement, rebuilding democracy, and defeating the Trump agenda. Beams said that by being a part of Indivisible, she hopes to engage people and create a more active group of citizens nationwide.
I also spoke to Khanh Dinh, a professor of psychology at UMass Lowell who believes that “men need to step aside, they’re doing a [expletive] job.” Dinh proclaimed her distaste of Donald Trump’s policies and actions while holding a sign with the words “Deport him 2 Russia.” Dinh explained why she was at the protest and why she cared so much: “We want to create a better world for the next generation [and] we care about our students in other ways.”
Several members of Andover High School’s Girls for Girls clubs sport creative signs and hats representative of the 2017 Women’s March.
I spoke to Paige and Leah, seniors at Andover High School, about a club they run called Girls for Girls at their school. The club fundraises money for women’s organizations, facillitates conversations about feminist issues and work on improving the school in ways that will benefit girls, such as supplying free tampons and pads in the bathrooms. They aim to emphasize that activism can be a small town thing in addition to a bigger town thing. Paige discussed the school taboo on talking about feminism and activism, and they hope to break this stigma by encouraging others to speak about what is important to them without fear of what others will think.
Many individuals in passing cars showed their support by honking, cheering, and giving the protesters thumbs up, but some passing dissenters mocked the protesters by giving thumbs down, jeering, and yelling things like “Trump 2020.” After one such circumstance a woman standing near me neatly quipped “What are they booing? Women?” Despite the naysayers, the protest demonstrated the ability of a few individuals to ban together and stand up for something they believe in.
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