On day of national march, Richmond to have its own women-focused event
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RICHMOND, Ind. — In each of the past two years, millions have turned out for National Women’s March-related events in the nation’s capital and other cities across the country.
This year, local people who might want to join in won’t have to travel very far.
Wayne County Indivisible, a local non-partisan group, is organizing the Speak Out Sisters event set for 1-3 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 19, at Jack Elstro Plaza in downtown Richmond.
“For the past two years, I’ve sat in my den and watched the Women’s March in Washington, D.C., and thought, ‘I can’t get to Washington, D.C. I don’t particularly want to drive to a big crowd in Indianapolis, but I think there is probably a lot of women in Richmond who would like to be together on this day and share our feelings about things,’ said Louise Ronald, one of the local organizers.
“Sure enough, I started asking around and there were a lot of people that felt that way.”
The event will feature a series of local speakers and performers representing groups such as Genesis, Girls Inc., the Earlham College women’s choir and more. All of them will be women, and the speakers will be focusing on local issues.
“We just thought it was real important for women and girls to be the ones on the stage,” Ronald said.
“We know that not all women agree on every issue. We’re allowing people a chance to talk about something that they’re passionate about. We’re asking people to be considerate in how they word their message and considerate in how they listen to other people.”
All are welcome to attend the free event, regardless of their political beliefs or gender.
“This is not exclusively for women. It’s for anyone who is concerned about things that are happening to women in our society,” Ronald said. “And also it’s a celebration. Lots of good things have happened. Look at Congress. Look at the Me Too Movement. There are lots of things that are happening.
“The Wayne County chapter (of Indivisible) is very adamantly non-partisan, and we really want to create conversations that include all of the political spectrum in a civil tone, something we’re not seeing a lot these days.”
Across the street at Morrisson-Reeves Library, a warming station will be set up with information about community organizations that serve women and girls among their clientele. Should the weather be bad enough, the library also would host a scaled-down version of the main event.
Activities for Speak Out Sisters will be contained to Elstro Plaza and the library. Unlike in other cities across the country that day, there won’t be any marching here.
“We’re not a march. That requires a great deal more planning than what we had in mind,” Ronald said, laughing.
Anyone interested in getting more information about the local event can contact Ronald at louronald@comcast.net or search for “Richmond Indiana Women’s March Gathering” on Facebook.
Nearly 900 people have indicated on the Facebook page that they either will attend or are interested in going, but Ronald doesn’t expect the turnout to actually be that high given it’s an outdoor event in the middle of winter.
“I hope it will be fun,” she said.
Jason Truitt is the team leader and senior reporter at the Palladium-Item. Contact him at (765) 973-4459 or jtruitt@pal-item.com.
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