Inauguration Day rallies, women’s marches planned statewide

Citizens alarmed about this past election cycle and the impending presidency of Donald Trump are mobilizing across the nation to express their solidarity and their intent to protect human rights, support one another, and fight for social and economic justice. Following are some of the events planned for this weekend: (Please contact us if we are missing your event.)

Friday, Jan. 20 (Inauguration Day)

SEATTLE — Seattle United for Immigrants and Refugee Families events, including a march and rally, are planned all day on Friday, Jan. 20. The City of Seattle will offer free citizenship application assistance from noon to 3 p.m. at Seattle Center’s McCaw Hall, followed by Know Your Rights/Safety Training sessions. Gather for a rally and march at 1 p.m. at Judkins Park, 2150 S. Norman St., march to the Federal Building (2nd & Madison) beginning at 2:30 p.m., rally there at 4 p.m., and march to Westlake Park (4th & Pine) for a second major rally at 5 p.m. Student walkouts are expected throughout the city and UW students will be protesting a Breitbart editor’s speech on campus at 6 p.m. An interfaith service, “Sabbath of Dreams: The Hard Won and the Yet to Be,” will be from 6 to 8 p.m. at the Temple De Hirsch Sinai (1441 16th Ave.) from 6 to 8 p.m.

Saturday, Jan. 21

OLYMPIA — An estimated 2,500 women are expected to gather at the Capitol’s Tivoli Fountain at 10 a.m. on Saturday, jan. 21 and march down Capitol Way toward the Olympia Farmers Market. There, they’ll turn around and march back to the Capitol for a rally. Get details.

SEATTLE — The Seattle Womxn’s March, being held in solidarity with the national Women’s March on Washington D.C to stand up for human rights and social justice, will be Saturday, Jan. 21 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. in downtown Seattle. JOIN THE LABOR CONTINGENT of the march! Meet at 10:30 a.m. at the Washington State Labor Council, 321 16th Ave. S. (on the march route) to join the march from there to the Seattle Center. Get details about the march.

SPOKANE –The Women’s March on Spokane begins at 11 a.m. at the Spokane Convention Center, 334 W Spokane Falls Blvd. Get details.

VANCOUVER/PORTLAND — A rally and march demonstrating a United Front Against the Trump Agenda will be held Saturday, Jan. 21 from 10 to 11:30 a.m. in Vancouver. Participants will gather at Shemanski Park (SW Park/Salmon), march to Waterfront (Salmon St. Springs), where they will join the Portland Women’s March at noon. The Oregon AFL-CIO has endorsed this event and is encouraging affiliated unions to participate. Get details.

WENATCHEE — The Women’s March on Wenatchee begins at 11 a.m. at the Wenatchee Community Center, 504 S. Chelan St. Get details.

YAKIMA — A march in support of Central Washington women will take place in Yakima on the same day as the national Women’s March on Washington and nearly 400 similar marches throughout the world. The Women’s March on Yakima will begin at 10 a.m. Saturday at the corner of M.L. King Jr. Boulevard and North Second Street. Get details.

MORE WOMEN’S MARCHES are planned in Kingston, Langley, Union, Port Townsend, and Mount Vernon. Click here for details.

The mission statement of the National Women’s March on Washington (D.C) expresses the concerns of many of those who’ll be participating in the above-listed local events:

The rhetoric of the past election cycle has insulted, demonized, and threatened many of us – immigrants of all statuses, Muslims and those of diverse religious faiths, people who identify as LGBTQIA, Native people, Black and Brown people, people with disabilities, survivors of sexual assault – and our communities are hurting and scared. We are confronted with the question of how to move forward in the face of national and international concern and fear.

In the spirit of democracy and honoring the champions of human rights, dignity, and justice who have come before us, we join in diversity to show our presence in numbers too great to ignore. The Women’s March on Washington will send a bold message to our new government on their first day in office, and to the world that women’s rights are human rights. We stand together, recognizing that defending the most marginalized among us is defending all of us.

We support the advocacy and resistance movements that reflect our multiple and intersecting identities. We call on all defenders of human rights to join us. This march is the first step towards unifying our communities, grounded in new relationships, to create change from the grassroots level up. We will not rest until women have parity and equity at all levels of leadership in society. We work peacefully while recognizing there is no true peace without justice and equity for all.

HEAR OUR VOICE.