OAKHURST — Despite rain, snow, and chain control, about 200 people turned out on Saturday, Jan. 21 for the local version of an event that was officially linked to “sister marches” held around the world, networked with the Women’s March on Washington.
“The march was a huge success,” says Rebekah Jensen, one of the organizers of the event. “The purpose was to promote equality, safety, and inclusion for women and other marginalized groups, including our minority communities, people who identify as LGBTQ, Native people, and immigrants and refugees.”
The gathering was a positive and inclusive event demonstrating support for women’s rights and human rights, say organizers, attended by people of all ages, including families with small children. A number of communities were represented, including Mariposa, El Portal and Fresno.
Starting at the Oakhurst Community Park, they marched to the southeast intersection of Road 426 and Highway 41, where they rallied for about an hour, chanting and singing.
“During the rally portion of our march, we had an overwhelmingly positive response from people driving by,” Rebekah says. “We had lots of upbeat horn honks, peace signs, thumbs-up, and waves. We also heard from a few drivers that didn’t support our message. The event was entirely peaceful from start to finish.”
Claudia Chavez in Fresno
Meanwhile, Oakhurst resident Claudia Chavez chose to drive down the hill and participate with friends in a similar event taking place in Fresno, where she says about 2,000 people were gathered.
“The march began and I was surrounded by women supporting women’s rights, men and children also standing up for women’s rights,” says Claudia.”I spotted two men of Muslim faith with so much excitement in their faces as they proudly walked with the crowd chanting, ‘the people united will never be divided!’ All around me people were sharing personal stories, and exchanging ideas to keep the people unified, while meeting new friends. The Women’s March expressed democracy and it was done in a peaceful way.”
