A community organizer with United We Stand-Cincinnati says there won't be a Women's March this year. Billie Mays says COVID took care of any plans they might have had. She says organizers are very sensitive to the fact that many people who would participate are high risk, or are caring for vulnerable people.
The first Women's March in 2017 coincided with hundreds of other events nationwide and the inauguration of Donald Trump. It drew thousands of people to Washington Park and for a march around Downtown. The event was repeated in 2018, and a march in 2020 was moved to Sawyer Point. (It was canceled in 2019 for reasons that were "practical, not idealogical," organizers said.)
"We were definitely anti-Trump, but mostly because he was a direct threat for so much of what many of us believe in and stand for," Mays says. "Equality, human rights and everybody having a chance to live and not be harassed. He was a direct threat against that, especially for minority groups."
She says the group is optimistic after the election of Joe Biden and Kamala Harris, but may march again next year.
"We do hope to keep pushing for progress. My big thing is, as a community leader, is that people don't get complacent again. We have to stay involved on every level. We want people to run for office, especially women. We've seen so many step up. We just hope to continue that progress."
