:quality(70)/arc-anglerfish-arc2-prod-sfr.s3.amazonaws.com/public/QMP3GVWPAVDJRGBIGB5E5DECOE)
“Women’s rights are human rights. Everybody’s rights are human rights. Everybody matters, everybody has equal importance in this world,” says local activist Amanda Flory. “And that’s what we’re going to Washington to say.”
Flory tells SFR she's been involved in politics since she was 3 years old, when she sat on her parents' shoulders in Lamy during a protest against the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant.
Flory, the Lamy native turned Albuquerque Underground 'Zine music writer, plans to be among tens of thousands who gather in the nation's capital the day after the presidential inauguration to demonstrate. When Flory heard about the nationally organized Women's March on Washington on Jan. 21, she decided to organize a larger New Mexican group to attend. "You know… Power in numbers," she tells SFR.
Next, Flory got in touch with Samia Assed, the president of the board of the Albuquerque Center for Peace and Justice, who then helped her coordinate hotel rooms, bus tickets, protest permits, police protection and fundraising for those who wanted to attend but couldn't afford the cost. They raised money through bake sales, raffles, house parties and knitting to ensure as many New Mexicans could march as possible. Now, about 200 people plan to embark on the 27-hour bus trip, and over 200 more are traveling by plane.
Flory tells SFR she feels like the march is a way to let Trump know who he works for.
"He is not representing us well," she says. "He is destroying all of our alliances around the world that are vital, that we have been building up for years. He has disrespected women more than I can say and it's just not a world I want to see for my nieces, nephews and godson."
Can't make it to DC to fight for basic human rights? No problem—Lindsay Conover has it covered. With a little help from her friends, the Santa Fe organizer made sure New Mexico's capital city is in on the action.
When Conover watched the election, her shock sent her into a brief depression. But when she heard about the DC event, the astrological counselor sprang into action to arrange a local version.
"Our event will ... raise awareness around other organizations that are also fighting for women and human rights," Conover says. "I am marching because I want a better world for us to live in that honors equality, humanity and justice. For me, this is the first step in that direction."
Marchers should meet on the north side of the Bataan Building on West De Vargas Street between Galisteo Street and Don Gaspar Avenue at 10:30 am on Saturday, Jan. 21. A rally at the Roundhouse starts at noon. For more details, visit wmwsf.net.
Santa Fe Reporter