The women’s wave is here.
The third annual Women’s March on Juneau is scheduled for Saturday Jan. 19 starting at 10 a.m.
“We really want to get Juneau women talking about Juneau issues,” said Trish Turner Custard, one of the organizers of the march.
This year the event will feature a one hour rally outside the Capitol with several speakers, followed by the march down the hill to Centennial Hall where there will be an “action fair” from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. The fair will include tables hosted by local nonprofits and community groups. Each group was asked to provide action items for people.
“Each speaker has been asked to come up with an action,” Custard said. “It may be as simple as organizations looking for donations or volunteers.”
[Hope and frustration intermingle as Women’s March 2018 builds movement’s momentum]
She said the League of Women Voters will have postcards that people can send to their congress members, and many of the other 20 tables at the fair will be looking for volunteers.
There was a similar fair at the first march in 2017, but not last year. Organizer Karla Hart said this year they’ve been planning the march for about two months, whereas last year they only had two weeks, so they are able to do more than last year. She said there’s been about 25 people helping to plan the march this year.
“The Women’s March brings together tangible energy and voices that give me hope for somewhat turbulent times,” Hart said.
This year, a main goal for the organizers was to add more diversity to the speaker lineup.
“We have a lineup of Alaska Native speakers that we haven’t had before,” Hart said. “It will be powerful to bring more voices into the conversation.”
Here’s the list of speakers for the rally:
Rep. Sara Hannan will be the emcee for the event. She said in an earlier interview with the Empire that her political aspirations were fueled by the 2016 elections and Trumpian politics. She became involved in a local group called The Resistors, which spawned from the Women’s March.
Nancy Keen will be performing a women’s warrior song.
Fran Houston will deliver a welcome speech.
Miciana Hutcherson will speak about murdered indigenous women.
Sandy Edwardson will talk about getting out the vote and elections.
John Garcia and David Abad will speak about how men can advocate for women.
Allison Caputo will speak about transgender rights.
And Melanie Brown will speak about the environment.
Custard said organizers are expecting about the same turnout from previous years of about 1,000 people.
“The thing with our marches, unlike what some people might think, they are very positive,” Custard said. “They are non-partisan. We’re speaking about issues that affect everyone. If it affects women, it affects everyone.”
• Contact reporter Mollie Barnes at mbarnes@juneauempire.com or 523-2228.
