Kamloops Women’s March draws hundreds

Jan 21, 2017 | 11:39 AM

KAMLOOPS — It was a response to the rhetoric of the 2016 presidential election cycle. The day after Donald Trump was sworn in as the 45th President of the United States of America, ‘hundreds of thousands’ marched in Washington D.C., and were joined by millions of other demonstrators across North America and the world. In Canada, there were 30 local marches planned for communities across the country, including here in Kamloops.

From meagre beginnings on social media to a full-fledged demonstration, Kamloops held it’s own version of the Women’s March on Saturday, in solidarity with those who marched on Washington D.C., as well as in hundreds of other cities across North America.

“It just felt like the political situation in the United States felt kind of helpless, especially being in Canada,” Kamloops Women’s March co-organizer Carlin Volt explained. “We just wanted to get everyone together and show Kamloops that we believe in equality.”

According to the official Women’s March on Washington website, the event here in Kamloops was one over 670 held across the world, attracting more than 4 million marchers worldwide. Organizers of the local event were surprised by the turnout Saturday morning.

“We’re kind of blown away by the turnout,” Volt said, with a smile. “Honestly, all we did was start a Facebook event… and it kind of blew up into all these people here.”

The cause obviously resonated with people here in Kamloops, who felt the need to voice their opinions about the direction they see human rights going now that a self-proclaimed sexual predator now inhabits the Oval Office.

At the conclusion of the March, organizers asked those who took part to sign their name, as a pledge to continue standing up for the rights of others, in an effort to maintain the momentum generated by the millions who took part across the globe.

According to Volt, “We believe that women’s rights are human rights, and we are going to be fighting sexism and racism for the next four years Trump is in power.”