Winnipeg to join international Women's March
January 17, 2017 | Glen Dawkins (Winnipeg Sun Media)
Thank you to the Winnipeg Sun for their coverage of the Women's March on Washington. Check out the original article by Glen Dawkins published on January 17, 2017 here. Full article provided below.
Winnipeg women will join hundreds of thousands of marchers in Washington, D.C., and around the world by holding a Women’s March downtown on Saturday. The march is in protest of the election of Donald Trump, who will be sworn in as the 45th U.S. president on Friday in Washington.
“(We want to) get around the hateful rhetoric that Trump has been igniting throughout his election and in the wake of his presidency,” said Black Space Winnipeg’s Alexa Potashnik, who will serve as emcee for the Winnipeg march. “We really want to get at the fact that not so much that this is anti-Trump because we don’t want to focus solely on him but how white women and white people can be allies to people of colour.”
One of 25 similar marches being held in Canada and over 380 planned worldwide, the Winnipeg march will begin Saturday at 11 a.m., at Portage Place and head down Portage Avenue and past the U.S. Consulate in the TD Building at 200 Portage Ave. before heading back to the mall. Over 30 organizations have signed on as supporting organizations for the march including Black Space Winnipeg, Immigrant and Refugee Community Organization of Winnipeg (IRCOM), Winnipeg Labour Council and the Women’s Health Clinic. Confirmed speakers include IRCOM’s Amal Shire and social justice advocate Joan Dawkins.
Also performing will be the drum group Buffalo Gals, based out of the North End Women’s Resource Centre.
Potashnik is not sure how many marchers will take part. While it’s billed as a Women’s March, it is open to all.
“It’s for everybody who believes in equality and won’t stand for racism, sexism or homophobia,” said Potashnik.
While Canadians may feel immune to what is going on in the United States, Potashnik feels we shouldn’t be smug.
“What I didn’t like is that I saw an influx of ‘I’m so proud to be Canadian’ selfies throughout my news feed,” she said. “People are being a little clueless. We’re going to be just as affected whatever Trump decides to do when he gets in office.”
Twitter: @SunGlenDawkins