March 8 - Elkton, MD
A Day without a Woman!
Group marches in Elkton for International Women's Day
ELKTON — More than 50 women and men came together to march downtown in support of women’s rights Wednesday.
The event was organized by The Purple Resistance, a group of women and men who address current issues, to show support for International Women’s Day and the A Day Without A Woman campaign, which aimed to display women’s impact on industry by participating in a daylong strike, as well as human rights and environmental issues, in addition to other topics.
The march included members of The Purple Resistance and the Cecil County Democrat Club, among other groups and individuals who traveled from as far away as Delaware and Pennsylvania. Lori Willing, one of the organizers of the march and co-founder of The Purple Resistance, said she thought the march went well.
“I thought it was wonderful,” she said. “I think there are lot of people with a lot of issues and I think it’s wonderful that the men are supporting the women.”
Willing said she liked how many people came out to support the march, as well as the members of the public who showed supported for the march participants. Willing noted the support men gave to the women participating in the march was also a positive for the event.
Elkton resident Doug Hill said he heard about the march during a Cecil County Democrat Club meeting. “I think that women’s rights are human rights and I’m a human,” Hill said. “When one group doesn’t get their rights, there’s a chance that another group won’t have their rights, as well. Sometimes it’s one step away.” Hill said he also marched for Planned Parenthood and to support public schools through the tax base. He said he hopes the march will inspire people to start thinking about the state of the country. “I hope it gets people thinking and focusing on where we are as a nation today,” Hill said.
Nancy Irwin, a member of The Purple Resistance, said she marched to give women a voice.
“I marched because I want women’s voices to be heard and that not everybody in Cecil County is happy about President Donald Trump,” said Irwin, a Rising Sun resident. “We’re going to be more visible and vocal.”
Maryann Othello, a member of the Democrat Club, said she marched because she is against racism. “I am against demeaning a human being, any human being, be they red, yellow, brown, black, Muslim, Jewish, Hispanic, Mexican, etc.,” Othello said. “We don’t have the right to demean anyone. Me, I believe God made us all in his image.”
She said she thought the march raised the point that “women are the birth of this nation” and women have a voice that will not be silenced.
Pennsylvania resident Marylea Madiman, who’s also a member of Newark Friends Meeting, said she is marching for women’s rights, immigrant rights and the rights of blue-collar workers. She noted while she is an American citizen, her grandparents are from Mexico and her husband is an immigrant and her dad was a welder.
“I want all of those identities to be recognized as central to the way that we make our laws and the way that we treat other people,” she said.