The call is out from a group of local progressive activists to join a Women’s March in Sonoma on Saturday, January 20. The action, held in solidarity with similar marches around the nation, begins at noon on Sonoma Plaza.
According to Angela Ryan, one of the event organizers, the goal is to engage youth, uplift women leaders, advocate for gender equality, and stand up against voter suppression and for fair protection of all human rights.
This march is a follow-up to last years Women’s March, in which thousands showed up in Sonoma to protest “the misogyny and racism” of the Trump campaign.
“The national Women’s March movement sparked a year of resistance, led by women, against President Trump’s denigration of women, immigrants, and people of color, his elevation into positions of power people with compromised ethics and an utter lack of qualifications, and the promotion of an agenda that favors the wealthy at the expense of the majority,” Ryan said.
The event will be nonviolent and will not involve any civil disobedience or other violation of the law, Ryan said.
“We will be rallying on the Plaza to grow our movement and to harness the political power of women and traditionally underrepresented groups to create transformational change in our community.”
Speakers confirmed so far:
- Betzy Chavez, Director, Family Resource Center
- Dmitra Smith, Vice Chair, Sonoma County Commission on Human Rights
- Abi Huff, Owner, the Stinging Nettle
- Curran Reichert, Minister, First Congregational Church
- Denia Candela, Outreach Manager at the North Bay Children’s Center
- Alyssa Schimm, Student Government Leader, Sonoma Valley High School
Sponsoring organizations include Sonoma Valley Democrats and Sonoma Valley Resistance.
I could not find any information as to what time the rally will start or when we should start gathering.
Begins at noon, on Sonoma Plaza
Another feel good march. One wonders how effective they are. They seem to have no effect on the elite decision makers. Only a hard boiled determined effort to take back Congress will get results.
Richard. An awful lot of the women, and men, coming to the January 20 march in Sonoma have been hard at work for the last year, by themselves and in small groups, week after week, to actively resist the Trump agenda. They have called. They have written. They have shown up and they have taken names.
All this has set the stage to do exactly what you suggest. The march is an opportunity for everyone to celebrate the power of hundreds of thousands of engaged Americans across the nation. We will have our moment of feel good. But we are under no illusions that the work will take, as you say, a concerted ongoing hard boiled effort to restore Democracy to our country. Join us.