US: Thousands of Women March Against Racism and Oppression

Thousands of women gathered in Washington D.C. to march against racial injustice and voice their concerns over the growing intolerance and hatred that has been fuelled by the Trump administration.

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Smaller marches were organized in other U.S. cities, protests in New York City are slated for October 1 since Saturday marks the Yom Kippur, Jewish holy day of atonement and many Jewish activists raised objections over protesting on their holy day. 

Many also took to social media to voice their angst over the surge in racial injustice with the hashtags #M4RJ (March for Racial Justice) and #M4BW (March for Black Women). Several prominent figures like Gloria Steinem, Linda Sarsour, among others spoke at the D.C. event.

The march comes in response to escalating racist incidents, such as the recent white supremacist Charlottesville rally and the uproar over Black athletes taking a knee during the national anthem. Several demonstrators also took a knee in front of Trump's D.C. Hotel. Others gathered in front of the U.S. Justice Department and the FBI headquarters. 

"We recognize and lift up the intersection of anti-Semitism and racism perpetrated by white supremacists, whether they wave Confederate flags, don swastikas, beat and kill people on the streets in Charlottesville, deface Holocaust memorials, or threaten and harass members of our communities and our religious and community spaces," the march's mission statement said.

"And we recognize the need for all of us to work together in the face of an administration that condones widespread oppression of all those most vulnerable among us," the statement added.

"The unbearable murders of innocent Americans continue unabated and the time is now upon all Americans who seek equality and racial justice to stand up and say NOT ONE MORE," said the statement.

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The march was called to demand an end to the violence and discrimination against Blacks and people of color.

"The reality is that these are everyday occurrences," Davis told the CNN. "Charlottesville was horrific, but it’s not every day like that in Charlottesville. But for people of color, it’s like this every day."

The historic Women's March that took off in D.C. the day Trump took to office faced criticism by Black and women of color groups for lacking intersectionality and inclusivity — especially in terms of race, socio-economic status, reproductive and sex workers' rights. 

Black and Indigenous women experience sexual violence at much higher rates. According to the Center for Disease Control, CDC's National Intimate Partner and Sexual Violence Survey, 22 percent of Black women and 26.9 percent of American Indian or Alaska Native women have been raped at some point in their life. Racial disparity plays a large role in the jails as well, according to Vera Institute, 44 percent of women in jail are Black and a staggering 86 percent would experience some form of sexual violence in their time served in jail. 

The organizers, Dorca Davis, one of the organizers of the March for Racial Justice and Farah Tanis, executive director of Black Women’s Blue Print decided to address the issue by organizing two independent rallies, March for Racial Justice, primarily to address issues faced by women of color and the March for Black Women, which started at two different points but converged at the National Mall.  

Davis told the Washington Post, that the organizers started planning the march in June, soon after the Minnesota policeman was acquitted in Philando Castille's murder.

The event was originally planned for Sept. 9, marking Stono Rebellion, the largest slave rebellion in the U.S. history but due to logistical issues, the march was postponed to Sept. 30, Elaine Massacre of 1919, "the largest state-sanctioned massacre of Black people in U.S. history" (the organizers said in the statement) that took place in rural Arkansas where over 200 Black men and women were murdered for demanding better pay.

“Our mistake highlights the need for our communities to form stronger relationships,” organizers of the March for Racial Justice wrote in a statement.

As an epilogue to the event, organizers have planned a "Post-March Community Dialogue" at the University of District of Colombia, to engage the protesters in "The History and Future of Black Feminist Resistance" and discuss the strategies to collaborate with the Black women's movement.