‘Our unity is our strength’: At Women’s March KC, speakers address intersectionality
Dozens gathered at Mill Creek Park Saturday afternoon during the Women’s March KC: Reale Womxn’s Rally, where speakers focused on the intersections between the Black Lives Matter and women’s movements.
Attendees sat or stood, socially distanced, on the park grass to listen to speakers, including organizer Justice Gatson.
Gatson encouraged voters to turn out in November. She also urged white attendees to become allies.
“Black bodies have been on the line all the time,” Gatson said. “Black women are fighting for us.”
The Women’s March KC is one of several being held nationwide Saturday in support of women’s rights and gender equity. The D.C. march, planned by the same organization that organized the 2017 Women’s March, aims to send a message in opposition to President Donald Trump and his effort to fill the Supreme Court vacancy created by the death of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, according to its website.
The march started in Mill Creek Park, by the Country Club Plaza, at 1 p.m. Saturday. According to the event’s Facebook page the march, called the Reale Womxn’s Rally, was organized by womxn of color to unite and protect all Black lives and all womxn. Womxn is an alternate spelling for women in an effort to be inclusive of non-binary and trans women.
Lisa Benson, a former 41 Action News employee, discussed her termination and urged women of color to be authentic with their white friends and white women to support women of color.
“I’m talking about a culture that protects whiteness, protects white women, but doesn’t necessarily recognize me,” Benson said.
More than 20 organizations were involved in the rally.
CiCi Glasgow, with the KC Anti Violence Project, said all Black lives, including LGBTQ+ people, need to be protected.
“Our unity is our strength,” Glasgow said.
Ashley Johnson, with KC Tenants, addressed the ongoing eviction issue. On Thursday, KC Tenants protesters chained themselves to the doors of the Jackson County Courthouse and shut down much of the eviction docket, both in person and online.
“This system needs to be dismantled,” Johnson said.
Becky Bokay, 37, of Blue Springs, attended with her 4-year-old daughter. She brought her daughter to a few protests over the summer, she said, “so she can get an understanding of why we fight for equality.”
Another attendee, 62-year-old Christy Schee, of Parkville, said Saturday’s rally was her first protest since the pandemic began. She said she was drawn by a drive to support women of color and the LGBTQ community.
“It’s the responsibility of white people to fix this,” Schee said.
Elaine Bruner, from Kansas City, arrived at the march with a “we won’t go back sign.” Bruner attended the 2017 Women’s March and said she’s worried about Amy Coney Barrett’s Supreme Court nomination.
“I think women feel they are being forced to live under a certain philosophy,” Bruner said.
She said she was glad to see the inclusive nature of Saturday’s event: “That’s what America is intended to be.”
Maddie Womack, founder of Barrier Babes, said this march is more inclusive than in 2017 when it was about white women and abortion.
“It means acknowledging that Black women are leading this movement and as allies we need to follow their lead,” Womack said.
This story was originally published October 17, 2020 at 4:03 PM.
