What it felt like to join the Women's March in Helena
I would like to tell you about Saturday, which I spent in Helena, with 10,000 people on the Women’s March on Montana, one of nearly 700 sister marches for the Women’s March on Washington.”
It started around 6:30 a.m.. We were pulling up to FVCC in the cold — bags and signs in tow. We didn’t know each other. We didn’t know what we were in for. As we huddled around each other, checking in and figuring out what bus we were on, we hugged and exchanged names, and someone told us there were 5,300 people signed up to come that day: a cheer went up. We all expected about two-thirds of the people who said they were coming to show, but even still, 3,000-4,000 would still be amazing!
We got there 45 minutes before kick off, and the march staging area was already full. I hopped off the bus, was handed a vest and a crossing sign right there at Sanders and Eighth, and proceeded to wave group after streaming group across the street. Coming from the mall, where people had been instructed to park, was a steady stream of people, three to four across, in a never ending deep line.
Cops rolled by, looking for a thumbs up or a thumbs down. Officers paused, helping us move people along. And then the unthinkable: We ran out of space for people to stand. Organizers quickly discussed the situation with the cops, and we found overflow staging space in the parking lots around us. We had masses of people on top of snow banks, and overflowing back onto Sanders. It was a group effort to keep people from stopping there, to keep moving them into the areas it was safe to stand in.
Cheers kept going up, and signs would wave. At the back, we didn’t know what was being said, but it didn’t matter, we were all smiles, too. We had to delay the start a bit, because so many people were showing up that traffic was backed up on the highway. Buses were crawling along, with loads of people. And then the march finally started.
When we finally reached the Capitol, we had so many people that we couldn’t fit in the lawn in front of it, and overflowed into the park behind. The streets leading to the rally were full, snowbanks perched on, lilac bushes perched under, and everyone shoulder to shoulder with strangers.
We listened as Mrs. Bullock cheered us on, listened to her describe the equality we yearned for. We listened to native songs, and we heard them speak about the issues close to them, ones that effect us all as Montanans. We listened to Bree break down because she was so elated and full of happiness that she had this chance to see us all stand in front of her and cheer.
When things finally wrapped up, most of us were frozen. Two days later, I am not sure I can feel my feet still! But we all stood together and called for equality and safety and basic human rights, and to acknowledge the plight that a portion of our population is in, even if we ourselves are not suffering. It was a day of happiness and joy, and a day of great empathy by so many women, men and children. We stood together, as sisters and brothers, wishing for equality, freedom, liberty and justice for all Americans.
Shirley is a resident of Kalispell.