Here’s what you need to know about the upcoming Women’s March on Saturday, October 17.
Three years ago, thousands of protesters gathered for the first Women’s March on Washington to fight for reproduction rights, LGBTQ+ rights, racial equality, immigration and healthcare reforms and the environment as well as other human rights causes. The march attracted over 200,000 people to the capital setting the record for the largest single-day protests in U.S. history. Although Women’s March has been held yearly for the past three years, a new one has been explicitly called for Saturday, October 17.
Saturday’s march was convened by the Women’s March collective earlier in September following the passing of Supreme Court Justice, Ruth Bader Ginsburg on September 18. The organization, which co-hosted a national vigil for the late notorious RBG, announced its plans for a new march after President Trump made known his intention of naming a new Supreme Court member immediately.
“We will march in force on October 17 to send a clear message that we will not allow Trump and the GOP to endanger our lives any longer,” read the organization’s Instagram post. “This is what we’ve been preparing for, this is why millions of feminists marched on January 21, 2017.”
The main march will be held in Washington DC and is expected to gather at least 10,000 people as well as a number of supporting organizations including Black Feminist Future, MomsRising, and #VOTEPROCHOICE. Meanwhile, the Women’s March’s satellite marches are expected to draw over 60,000 people from across 39 states. DC’s march is expected to kick off at Freedom Plaza and will finish in front of the Supreme Court, you can see the full schedule below:
- 11 a.m.: Gather at Freedom Plaza
- 12 p.m. – 1 p.m.: Rally
- 1 p.m. – 3 p.m.: March
- 3 p.m. – 5 p.m.: Text-a-thon
Of course, COVID-19 remains a big concern for this kind of multitudinary events so Women’s March will be providing hand sanitizer stations throughout the march and is asking all attendants to wear the mandatory face coverings and to comply with the 6-feet security distance. In addition, the organization has asked that all attendants that are feeling sick refrain from attending the marches and join one of their virtual events.
Unlike the previous marches, the October 17 one will be followed by a multitudinary text-a-thon aimed at encouraging registered voters to go out and vote. In addition to the marches and the in-person text-banking telethon, Women’s March is also hosting a series of virtual events for those unable to attend the marches but who still want to partake in the events. These will be held on Saturday, October 17, and Sunday, October 18, and will also be part of the text-a-thon which aims to reach a text goal of 5 million possibly marking this upcoming weekend the single largest one of Women2Women direct voter contact ever.
For more information on Women’s March visit their website here.
See also: Ruth Bader Ginsburg: The First Woman To Lie In State At The Capitol
[Featured image: 2017’s Women’s March. Shutterstock]