Women's March - Phoenix

Well, even though I was part of the planning committee of the Women's March San Diego, I ended up going to Phoenix that day. 

David and I arrived right on time, parked at a nearby street and proceeded to walk along other pink hats that were strolling in front of us. We saw women of all ages, families and lots of men. Everyone was inclusive, friendly and even though some of their signs were pretty strong, their attitude was calm and collected. 

As we arrived I noticed A LOT of white people. There were very few people of color. Thankfully as we progressed with the march I noticed that there were groups of people that looked more like me.  

For a moment, I was the brown dot in the pink hat crowd. However, I did not feel alone or out of place. Everyone that showed up had a purpose, to make sure that all human rights were protected. Everyone I smiled to (you know I always smile at strangers), smiled back and I enjoyed reading their signs and marching along with them. 

As we continued to walk, there was a diverse group of women that were chanting as we marched. The rest of us joined as we learned the words. 

We saw a lot of pink hats, not as many as the women in Washington had (based on pictures I've seen).

What does the pink hat mean? Well, there's the PussyHat Project and the two women that created the pattern and the reason behind the hat. After the leaked audio of Trump stating that he would grab women by the pussy, the two women got together, found a knitter that made the pattern and there it is, the pink pussyhat movement was born. 

There's been controversy of the Women's March being too white, not inclusive enough and at the same time, I have heard many people say that thanks to all the white women who attended, there were zero acts of violence. 

Is that right? If so, then more white women need to get out, wear pink hats and more people of color should join instead of watching from the sidelines and defining the movement as too white for them. Maybe it was too white because you were not there. 

What else can we do? Women's March created a follow up movement after the Women's March that is called 10 actions in 100 days. They have great resources to take action. 

Also, visit DailyAction.org and sign up to make sure you do more than just a one day march. We still have a lot more work to do. 

XO

- Pam