A conversation with one of the women behind the Atlanta March for Social Justice and Women.
“I grieved on the night of the Election. I’m a liberal, progressive, Jewish American Woman. I never believed a man as unqualified as Donald Trump would become the president of the United States.”- Blynne Olivieri
Blynne Olivieri is one of the leaders behind the Atlanta March for Social Justice and Women. She is helping to empower Americans to resist. Olivieri wants people to resist racism, sexism and oppression. Her motto; reject an administration that doesn’t represent, or define us.
Blynne wants America to live up to its promise of equality. She is marching for liberty and justice for all Americans. Justice that she doesn’t have faith that the Trump administration will offer equally.
Olivieri says, “Trump spoke racist rhetoric on the campaign trail. He is not qualified or equipped to be president. Some of Trump’s cabinet picks have had connection to racist, anti-Semitic groups. Those groups don’t represent the America I love or what our government should be. Thousands of people agree with me. We will march and peacefully mobilize against injustice. We march for diversity and the acceptance that should be at the core of American values.”
I ask, “Do you think anything can occur that may increase Trumps acceptance and redeem his image?”
Olivieri replies, “No. That ship has sailed. Trump bragged about groping women. He made fun of a disabled reporter and he insulted a civil rights hero. My hero. Trump has proven to be a threat to the equality, health, and advancement of this country. He’s a threat to the positive change that civil rights legends like John Lewis and Martin Luther King Jr. bled for. I won’t stand by as the dream and the positive change they, and so many other men and women who have fought for social justice worked, for get ripped away. People need to become politically engaged to prevent this. Run for office, protest, call a state representative and act to resist injustice.”
“What makes this march so important to you?”
“Olivieri spoke, tearfully. “I went to the university that I work for and saw the sheer terror in the faces of my students because they feared for their lives and their freedoms, I knew I had to take action.”
When was this march first planned?
“On November 13th. At first I was going to volunteer to help with the planning of the D.C. March but I felt a need and a calling to develop one at home. The college I work at is 44% African-American. These students already feared police brutality. Now they are also full of anxiety over the advancements toward equal rights eroding away. They fear the loss of reproductive freedoms and the right to be themselves. So I am marching for them. Me and my co-founders Harmel Codi, Gina Gareau-Clark, Janel Green, Gerald A. Griggs, and Aisha Yaqoob all march for different reasons. We march for the disabled, the Trans community, for housing justice, for economic equality, and for immigrants and refugees, and for the children of our nation. This March combines different people and issues. Yet, we all have the same goal. We want to improve our country.”
There are over 300 marches like this cropping up all over the country and globally. The main March, the Women’s March on Washington 2017, also happening on the same day, January 21st. Groups like the ACLU of Georgia, disABILITY LINK, Georgia Muslim Voter Project, Latino Connection, National Council of Jewish Women - Atlanta Section, Empowered by Pink, and Black Lives Matter of Greater Atlanta are taking part.
Are you?
Information of where you can join the protest is below.
Protesting is as American as baseball or the Boston tea party. It is how we have fought to improve our government for generations. Why? Because a government that oppresses the people is not one that is for the people. So, when the people are unhappy, they march. They shout. They rise up and speak out. Donald, are you listening?
Join the March!
Note: This is not a comprehensive list of events. This article will be updated as more information becomes available. Check back for updates. This list is courtesy of Hayley Miller, of The Huffington Post. Check out her post by clicking here.
Arizona
Phoenix
Friday, Jan. 20
6 a.m. at Carnegie Library Park
California
Los Angeles
Saturday, Jan. 14
12 p.m. at Los Angeles City Hall
Friday, Jan. 20
11 a.m. at Olympic and Figueroa
Palo Alto
Friday, Jan. 20
5 p.m. at El Camino Real and Embarcadero Road
Sacramento
Friday, Jan. 20
2 p.m. at California State Capitol
San Diego
Friday, Jan. 20
10:30 a.m. at San Diego State College and Chicano Park
12 p.m. at Park Boulevard and President’s Way Lawn
San Francisco
Friday, Jan. 20
10 a.m. at the Golden Gate Bridge
5 p.m. at UN Plaza
Colorado
Denver
Friday, Jan. 20
1:30 p.m. at Denver Capitol Building
Florida
Miami
Friday, Jan. 20
6 p.m. Bayfront Park Amphitheater
Orlando
Friday, Jan. 20
6 p.m. Lake Eola Park
Georgia
Athens
Friday, Jan. 20
8 p.m. at Cine Athena
Atlanta
Saturday, Jan. 21
1 p.m. at the Center for Civil and Human Rights
Hawaii
Honolulu
Friday, Jan. 20
4 p.m. Waikiki Gateway Park
Illinois
Chicago
Sunday, Jan. 15
6 p.m. at Segundo Ruiz Belvis Cultural Center
Friday, Jan. 20
5 p.m. at Trump International Hotel and Tower Chicago
Kentucky
Murray
Saturday, Jan. 21
Louisiana
New Orleans
Friday, Jan. 20
3 p.m. at Duncan Park in City Hall Plaza
Maine
Portland
Thursday, Jan. 19
2 p.m. at Monument Park
Massachusetts
Boston
Friday, Jan. 20
6 p.m. at Boston Common’s Parkman Bandstand
Michigan
Grand Rapids
Saturday, Jan. 21
10 a.m. at the Fountain Street Church
Minnesota
Minneapolis
Friday, Jan. 20
5:30 a.m. at 1530 New Brighton Blvd.
2 p.m. at Lake Street and Nicollet Ave. S
Missouri
Kansas City
Friday, Jan. 20
2 p.m. at Union Station
Nevada
Las Vegas
Thursday, Jan. 19
4 p.m. at Trump International Hotel Las Vegas
New York
New York City
Saturday, Jan. 14
1 p.m. at Jamaica Colosseum Mall
Sunday, Jan. 15
11:30 a.m. at 5th Avenue and 59th Street
12:30 p.m. at Trump International Hotel and Tower NYC
2 p.m. at the New York Public Library
Monday, Jan. 16
1 p.m. at Islamic Society of Bay Ridge
Wednesday, Jan. 18
7 p.m. at Theater for the New City
Thursday, Jan. 19
6 p.m. at Trump International Hotel and Tower NYC
8 p.m. at The Stand
Friday, Jan. 20
5 p.m. in Foley Square, student walkouts throughout the day
7 p.m. at DiMenna Center for Classical Music
8 p.m. at Annoyance Theater
8 p.m. at the Lincoln Theatre
9 p.m. at the Bowery Hotel
Saturday, Jan. 21
7:30 p.m. at Rough Trade
North Carolina
Durham
Friday, Jan. 20
5:30 p.m. at CCB Plaza
Ohio
Cleveland
Saturday, Jan. 14
5 p.m. at Cleveland Public Square
Oregon
Portland
Friday, Jan. 20
4 p.m. at Pioneer Courthouse Square
Saturday, Jan. 21
10 a.m. at Shemanski Park
Pennsylvania
Philadelphia
Friday, Jan. 20
3 p.m. at Thomas Paine Plaza
Tennessee
Nashville
Friday, Jan. 20
12 p.m. at Centennial Park Band Shell
Texas
Austin
Friday, Jan. 20
5 p.m. at Auditorium Shores
Saturday, Jan. 21
12 p.m. at Armijo Par
Dallas
Friday, Jan. 20
3 p.m. at Lake Cliff Park
Saturday, Jan. 21
10 a.m. at CWA Local 6215
Virginia
Fredericksburg
Sunday, Jan. 15
12 p.m. at Hurkamp Park
Washington
Seattle
Friday, Jan. 20
5 p.m. at Westlake Park
Washington, D.C.
Saturday, Jan. 14
12 p.m. at Howard University Blackburn Center Events
Sunday, Jan. 15
9 a.m. at National Sylvan Theater
Thursday, Jan. 19
2 p.m. at Franklin Square Park (through Sunday, Jan. 22)
8 p.m. at National Museum of African American History and Culture
Friday, Jan. 20
12 a.m. at the U.S. Capitol Building
7 a.m. at Freedom Plaza
10 a.m. Malcolm X Park
10 a.m. at Martin Luther King National Memorial
Saturday, Jan. 21
10 a.m. at World War II Memorial
Wisconsin
Milwaukee
Friday, Jan. 20
5 p.m. at Red Arrow Park