The Women’s March on Washington recently made history as the largest protest the U.S. has every seen. Not only did the 2.9 million people around the world follow in the footsteps of major Civil Rights and women’s liberation demonstrations, but the march for intersectional equality is yet another reminder of the legacy we owe to Black Civil Rights leaders like Martin Luther King, Jr. and the everyday people who practiced his principles of non-violence to change the world.
This latest mass mobilization of activists and protestors is an epic feat, one that any organizer, activist, or marketer can admire. And like many movements in the age of social media, this large-scale, global event started with a simple Facebook update. The origin of the march is credited to a Hawaiian grandmother who on the night of the election made a Facebook page suggesting a women’s protest during inauguration weekend. That same night across the country, a Brooklyn fashion designer suggested a similar protest to her politically minded followers who purchased shirts that said “Nasty Woman” during the election campaign. By the time the two women woke up on November 9, more than 10,000 people had RSVPd, shared, or confirmed support for the idea. The women combined their events, more women and women-led organizations joined the cause, and in just over two months the demonstration amassed overwhelming support, controversy, and impassioned online conversations under the hashtags #WhyIMarch, #WomensMarch, and #IMarchFor. It’s also seen its share of ire as opposers to the rally took protestors to task under the hashtag #RenameMillionWomenMarch.
The lesson anyone, regardless of political views, can take away from the Women’s March is that huge buzz and great impact often starts in a simple way: with a message that spreads because it resonates.
While demonstrations are integral to democracy, those who participate in the fight for equality know change doesn’t happen all at once on the steps of the Washington Monument on a Saturday. Real change occurs in the everyday, by individuals organizing and inspiring on a local level, nurturing their communities and giving voice to oppressed people and untold stories. In the spirit of those women doing their part everyday, here are some of the women-led movements in the Adobe Express community that have inspired us recently from a marathon runner trekking across Nepal to women of color reframing oppressive cultural narratives.
