Locals attend Cody Women's March

Several Thermopolites braved the elements last Sunday to join a Women & Allies march held in Cody, including Reggie and Cindy Dragon, Elizabeth Straley, Barb Rice, Karen Hitchens, Howard Samelson, Suzanne Samelson, Levi Shinkle, and Marcia Bean. After the success of the 2017 Women’s March — prompted by the inauguration of Donald Trump — the message saw millions of women and men gathering to support women’s rights.

This year a series of anniversary rallies were being held on Friday, Saturday or Sunday in cities across America. Casper, Cody & Cheyenne participated in this year’s actions. As Thermopolis wasn’t a town with enough interest, several members of the community decided to join with the Cody events. There were speakers, live music, booths & of course, over 300 participants walking around the city park with homemade signs. Each person was passionate about a particular area they felt was being ignored by the present government so signs were varied from “Women Pay Taxes-Obey The Laws,” “Women’s Rights are Human Rights,” to “Our Rights Are Not Up For Grabs-Neither Are We.”

But why do millions of Americans feel the need to take time and energy from their lives to go to a Woman’s March? According to The Shriver Report, 70 million women and children are living in or on the brink of poverty in America, women are the primary or co-primary breadwinners in 6 out of 10 families, yet on average earn $0.77 for every dollar earned by men, women and girls nationwide experience some 270,000 rapes or sexual assaults annually, or the underrepresentation of women in politics, government, the law, higher earning work place jobs, and the list goes on (and on).

While women’s equality has come a long way in the last fifty years—they still have a very long way to go. So as long as discrepancies exist in society, there will be those who care enough to try and make changes to the status quo by holding and attending marches. As Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. shared in his “Letter from a Birmingham Jail” more than 50 years ago and is still true today: “Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.”