A small group from the Paradise/Peachy communities walked to the Ashland Public library to join a growing crowd of supporters of the Women’s March in Washington, DC. It was supremely satisfying to be simultaneously marching in solidarity with the 500,000 marchers in our nation’s capitol, an epic event attended by Alicia and several of her friends from Bend. Our text messages back and forth made me feel as if were were marching arm in arm.
Early estimates projected 2-3,000 marchers and the Ashland Police afterward speculated there were 6x that number—easily surpassing the largest Fourth-of-July parade on record. What boosted the numbers were supporters visiting from all over Southern Oregon. Sharing such a beautiful environment with nearly 20% of Ashland’s population was extremely powerful…and congenial. Bordering on euphoria, I sensed everyone present viewed this march as a catalyst for things to come. In fact, this morning’s Daily Tidings published an account of 250 people crowded into our library learning about a new nationwide, online force call Indivisible. The group’s goal is to adopt the best practices for making Congress listen in favor of, rather than opposing, a progressive agenda. There’s a lot of work to be done.
Click the selfie (below) to view a small gallery of photos from the event. Plenty of great signs!