People of faith stood in unity at Women’s March in Washington D.C.
The early morning hours of January 21 saw large gatherings of women and men in Washington D.C. carrying around signs stating “Love Trumps Hate” and “I’m With Her.” The gathering was part of the much-awaited Women’s March on Washington 2017.
Religious Crowd Gathers in Support of Women’s March.[/tweetthis]
The march saw over 500,000 people gathering together to hear women talk about issues such as environmental responsibility and immigration reform. However, pro-life feminist groups had been excluded from the sponsor list, which had discouraged most Catholic women and men from attending. Even so, there were a few religious individuals who made it to voice their opinions on issues relevant to them.
For instance, Sister Simone Campbell from the NETWORK Lobby for Catholic Social Justice had been one of the speakers at the rally held prior to the actual march.
Similarly, people from Buddhist, Christian, Muslim, and Jewish backgrounds gathered to refute the theory that only right wing conservatives represented America’s religious community.
The march was organized in part by Linda Sarsour, a Palestinian-American Muslim and and executive director of the Arab American Association of New York.
Kathy Fitzsimmons, one of the many religious marchers, stated she wasn’t happy about her lack of involvement in civic matters during Obama’s rule. Fitzsimmons, who comes from the Greenville’s First Baptist Church, said that she would now be more involved.
She added that she had her feet up in confidence all these days and implied the current scenario woke her up to address things she felt weren’t right.
Fitzsimmons even held a sign that read “My Gay Son is a Gift from God” and said God had to be referenced in order to establish her as a voice for the religious community.
Like Kathy Fitzsimmons, another marcher named Andy Miller credited his belief in Judaism as a motivating factor. He said that he and others like him were gathered at the March because their religion taught them to fight for equality, justice, and human rights.
The Sisters of St. Joseph, which is a religious group committed to social justice, was also present at the march. According to the group’s president, Sister Helen Kearny, the group’s mission is aimed at unity and coming together with people who had similar beliefs would serve to enforce their idea of common good in a world filled with discrimination and hate.
The Women’s March is primarily a response to the election of Donald Trump as President of the United States. However, its other objective was to focus on human rights. Organizers of the successful march stated it was a demonstration aimed at proving humanity’s resistance and determination against all that is wrong.
Resources
- America The Jesuit Review
- Religion News Service
- Huffington Post
- NETWORK Lobby for Catholic Social Justice