About 150 protesters in Roberts Creek joined millions of women worldwide in a show of solidarity one day after Donald Trump was sworn in as U.S. president.
Protesters gathered outside the Gumboot Restaurant on Saturday, Jan. 21 and heard speeches from co-organizers Grace Hann and Leah Collison as well as Sunshine Coast Regional District director for Roberts Creek, Mark Lebbell – plus a handful of participant speakers. The group then marched to the mandala in support of the Women’s March on Washington D.C., which drew an estimated half a million.
“We will not be silent when we hear racism, sexism, homophobia,” Hann said. “We care about all people and the rhetoric that we’ve heard was against our beliefs. I believe that our voices all together around the world will be heard. We’re all saying together that we won’t be silent. We won’t allow racism. We will stand up to all of those things.”
The Independent newspaper reported 4.6 million protesters in the United States alone, with about 200 cities in countries outside of the U.S. taking part in sister marches like the one on the Sunshine Coast.
“People won’t necessarily see our march here,” Collison said. “But we’ll add to a total and the total is significant. I think one of the best ways I’ve found to describe it – and I don’t know who I’m quoting – but someone said, ‘We are all snowflakes – we can melt, we can fade, but when we’re all together, it’s a blizzard.’
“We have so much hate in the world right now,” Collison said. “I think that we all have to come together and remember that we’re all humans no matter what our differences are. I think people are forgetting that nowadays.”
Many news outlets reported that the main march on Washington, D.C. drew numbers that dwarfed Trump’s inauguration ceremony.
Lebbell thanked Coasters for making it out to the protest and showing their support.
“I want to thank not only the organizers but you, for putting on your jackets, getting away from the screen and getting out here to connect on a human level,” Lebbell said. “There’s a value to that Internet thing – it gets us here – but there’s nothing like looking somebody in the eye, because online we can lose our humanity. We can end up with reality TV stars in elected positions.”
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