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Charlotte women to hold their own march through uptown day after Trump inauguration

By Michael Gordon

mgordon@charlotteobserver.com

January 17, 2017 09:41 AM

Saturday’s Women’s March on Charlotte begins at 10 a.m. in First Ward and ends two miles later in Romare Bearden Park in uptown.
Saturday’s Women’s March on Charlotte begins at 10 a.m. in First Ward and ends two miles later in Romare Bearden Park in uptown. Observer staff
Saturday’s Women’s March on Charlotte begins at 10 a.m. in First Ward and ends two miles later in Romare Bearden Park in uptown. Observer staff

While dozens of Charlotte-area women are expected to take part in Saturday’s historic march in Washington, hundreds more will show their kinship with their own walk through uptown.

The Women’s March on Charlotte is scheduled to begin at 10 a.m. Saturday in First Ward Park on East Seventh Street. It will end two miles later at noon in Romare Bearden Park.

American women have come far since the first women's rights convention in 1848. The first female conductor, speaker of the house, astronaut to walk in space, chess grandmaster and others explain what it was like to break the glass ceiling in their field, and what is next for America's women.

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The event coincides with the national Women’s March on Washington, which is expected to draw hundreds of thousands of women, men and children to the nation’s capital in support of women’s rights and a battery of other issues.

The event here partners with the national march and shares the same issues. While President-elect Donald Trump is not mentioned by name on the local website, his successful campaign – and its tone – against Hillary Clinton is used as a rallying cry.

“The rhetoric of the past election cycle has insulted, demonized, and threatened many of us,” the group’s mission statement says.

According to the statement, the marches in Washington and around the country “will send a bold message to all levels of government … that we stand together in solidarity in the belief that women’s rights are human rights ... We expect our elected leaders to act to protect the rights of women, their families, and their communities.”

Meanwhile, around 45 Charlotte women are going to Washington on a bus organized by Jan Anderson, a retired engineer. Riders include former Charlotte Mayor Pro Tem Betty Chafin Rash as well as other professionals.

“We’re not marching against, we’re marching for women and women’s issues,” said Anderson, 67. “It’s making sure we are heard. Most of of us in my generation feel we have worked so hard to accomplish what we have. We want to make sure we can pass that along to the next generation.”

Some people are knitting pink “pussy hats” as part of a national effort ahead of the Women’s March on Washington on Jan. 21. Here, Joy Macdonell demonstrates how to knit the hats on her YouTube channel. See the full video at https://youtu.be/Aesiu

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Staff writer Jim Morrill contributed.

Michael Gordon: 704-358-5095, @MikeGordonOBS

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