Robyn Vining
March organizers wanted to elevate the voices of young people like Zion Rogers, an eighth-grade activist, who spoke at the Milwaukee rally.
Over the weekend, hundreds of thousands of people from across the country came out for the second annual Women’s March, providing another sign of hope that desperately needed change is on the horizon. These massive rallies didn’t get a ton of media attention, partially because of the government shutdown, partially because peaceful protest isn’t as scintillating as Nazis and angry white dudes brandishing AR-15s.
The rallies, by and large, improved upon last year’s efforts. The three major events held across Wisconsin — in Milwaukee, Green Bay and Eau Claire — were no exception. Madison, a city whose reputation for protesting is matched only by its reputation for binge drinking, deliberately wasn’t on the list. By and large, that was a good thing.
The co-chairs of the Women’s March Wisconsin wanted to focus on women and people of color. While Madison has myriad and disturbing racial disparities of its own, the organizers correctly thought that holding their flagship rally in Milwaukee — the most segregated major city in the country — would better highlight the struggles and successes faced by people of color.
Would another Madison rally have drawn a big crowd? Of course. The weather was beautiful and there really wasn’t much going on in town that day. But each and every single Wisconsinite has seen this all before — a sea of people waving signs and marching around the Capitol. That image has lost any positive power it once had.
A Madison rally would have been a distraction, drawing an undue amount of attention away from the other rallies. (This way, more than one Madison-based television station went to Sauk City to cover a smaller march held there.) Conservatives would have shined a light on the capital city, reducing a legitimate and growing statewide movement down to simple “Madison liberalism.” If progressives want to build a strong statewide movement, it means Madison can’t keep sucking up all the lefty oxygen in the room.
Milwaukee, Green Bay and Eau Claire each deserve their time in the spotlight. Three communities stretching across the state, each with their own set of successes and challenges.
More importantly, the three regional rallies better aligned with the goals of the organizers. On a national level, the goal of the Women’s March was “Power to the Polls,” getting women (and men) registered and ready to vote. While Madison area-voter registration efforts are still important, residents in Dane County already turn out to vote in huge numbers in almost every election. In Dane County, Hillary Clinton got slightly more votes in 2016 than Barack Obama did four years earlier.
That was not true elsewhere in the state. In Milwaukee County alone, Clinton received 40,000 fewer votes than Obama received in 2012. In Brown County and Eau Claire County, she received, respectively, 9,000 and 3,000 fewer votes. In just three counties, that’s a drop of more than 50,000 votes for Democrats in the 2016 election. Republicans won the state by less than 30,000 votes. Getting folks in these communities energized and making sure these folks feel confident that they have the proper ID to vote has to be the highest priority.
But political action requires more than just having the proper ID. That’s why I’m particularly glad that the organizers of Women’s March Wisconsin focused on elevating the voices of women of color, through leadership roles and the list of invited speakers. Young voices were highlighted too, including a DACA recipient in Milwaukee. In fact, Eau Claire’s rally was organized by two high schoolers, an important reminder that the deciding votes in the 2018 midterms might be cast by those who weren’t eligible to vote in 2016.
Ever since November 2016 there’s been so much focus on rural, aging white people, mostly men — their anxieties and frustration. Shockingly little attention has been given to the women of color who have felt the brunt of the actions from those who currently control our state and federal governments.
While the speakers were diverse, the audiences were mostly white. This shouldn’t be a surprise; white people disproportionately hold the kind of jobs where you have Saturdays off. But I don’t think this was an entirely bad thing either. Taking time to shut up and just listen to someone else speak is an important part of being an aspiring ally of any movement. The white people listening can then use their privilege in a constructive way by amplifying the messages they heard to their audiences.
Together, these marches invited people to step out of their comfort zone and have a powerful, engaging, challenging and humbling experience. The success of this year’s events adds to my growing optimism for the 2018 elections. Just as importantly, I am excited to see how the organizers and attendees continue to promote the voices and leadership of young women of color.
Because you don’t win elections and change the state with white Madison liberals alone.
Alan Talaga co-writes the Off the Square cartoon with Jon Lyons and blogs at Madland.