Traverse City Women's March- Exhilarating!

Mother Nature must have agreed with the motivation behind the Second Annual Women’s March in Traverse City on Saturday, January 20th, because she provided a beautiful day filled with sunshine. That sunshine reflected off the smiling faces of approximately 4500 participants – an estimate equal to one third the population of this enthusiastic town. Though the Traverse City Record Eagle, could not cover the story with the same emphasis given to it by the local citizens, the march was included in the New York Times’ video showing national coverage.

It was crowded. It was an amazing spectrum of men, woman, young, old, black, white, LGBTQ. There were babies in strollers, toddlers on their parents’ shoulders, youngsters carrying signs almost as big as they were. There was a genius behind the protest signs - some made you laugh, some spoke of a year of frustration, some pointed us in a much-needed direction. There was a seldom seen comradery behind the chanting, drumming, singing, and cheering as horns honked. Simply put, it was an exhilarating day.

In comparing last year’s march to that of this year, one television interviewee stated “Last year was like a funeral march, everyone was depressed, even stunned. This year it’s a protest – people are determined, they’re angry but motivated, and best of all, they’re hopeful!”

For those of you who did not attend, think about joining this movement; a movement that will allow the grassroots to be more involved in our country. For those of you wondering what to do with your protest signs – keep them handy. We still have a way to go.