We, in Olympia and our surrounding cities, are joining others around the world on January 21 in championing human rights. The rhetoric of the past election cycle has insulted, demonized, and threatened many of us - immigrants of all statuses, Muslims and those of diverse religious faiths, people who identify as LGBTQIA, Native people, Black and Brown people, people with disabilities, survivors of sexual assault - and our communities are hurting and scared. We are confronted with the question of how to move forward in the face of national and international concern and fear.

In the spirit of democracy and honoring the champions of human rights, dignity, and justice who have come before us, we join in diversity to show our presence in numbers too great to ignore. The Women’s March in Washington/Olympia will send a bold message to our new government on their first day in office, and to the world that women's rights are human rights. We will stand together exercising our freedom of speech and of assembly , recognizing that defending the most marginalized among us is defending us all.

We would appreciate support from your organization and would love for you to join us in our Women's March in Olympia. We are reaching out to mobilize all defenders of human rights. We hope it will be giant step towards unifying our communities, grounded in new relationships, to create change from the grassroots level up. We invite all groups participating to bring signs honoring their organization and showing that we, as collective people, honor inclusiveness and human rights. This is not an “anti-Trump” event as we don’t wish to be defined and limited by him. Polarizing or hateful messages are respectfully discouraged. Our goal is to leave this event feeling empowered with a strong sense of community as we stand in strength and solidarity with each other.

Join us at the Tivoli Fountain on the Capitol Campus at 10 am on Saturday January 21st. A kickoff speaker will send marchers down to Heritage Park and then return to the Capitol steps (Legislative Building) for a rally around 11:30 am, entertainment and a huge group photo!