“melancholy may be moved to laughter”: Women’s March in the Snow, Rise and Roar 2020

 Benjamin Heim Shepard is at Foley Square. 

Babs action block reminding the world, women's rights r human rights!

Ken Schles New York City Times Square.

 On my way to the Women’s March NYC, I glanced my friend Catherine’s facebook feed,

where she’d posted:

"Let it be your aim that, by reading your story, the melancholy may be moved to laughter and the cheerful man made merrier still; let the simple not be bored, but may the clever admire your originality; let the grave ones not despair you, but let the prudent praise you." from the prologue

Don Quioxte de La Mancha
-- Miquel de Cervantes Saavedra
(translation by Samuel Putnam)

I’m not sure she was going to the march.

But I was.

Can we push back with joyous defiance,

an all encompassing movement “moved to laughter”?

Marches all over the city,

All over the country.

Certainly, it feels like that riding in the snow,

crossing  the Brooklyn Bridge, flurries dancing in  the air. 

Womensmarchnyc.invited everyone:

JOIN US as women everywhere blanket the city in unison. On January 18th at 10AM, RISE with us as we rally at Foley Square and then march to Times Square to meet our sister marches as we ROAR. No matter where you are, we are laser-focused and aligned on issues such as Reproductive Rights, LGBTQIA+ Equality, Immigrant Rights, Disability Rights, Economic and Civil Rights, Environmental Justice and more. We will flood the streets and the internet to raise our voices in unison… build momentum now… vote in November.

We got sh*t to do. So let’s do it. See you in January NYC!

My friend Sara V from HONK NYC organized a group of us with the marching band,  Pussy Grabs Back:
“PGB & the HONK NYC team have flags, banners, & other paraphernalia that need volunteers to hold. We also invite you to bring your own signs with messaging that is trans-inclusive, pro-immigrant, anti-racist, women empowering, & supporting body autonomy for all. Dress in what you feel is appropriate for the day. Utilize any marching props you like. No one will be turned away from our group for not having a marching baton. Monica and Ryan from the HONK NYC … will move us down the street and keep us together as a unified group. Dancers, flag carriers, & sign holders can look to them for guidance.

Thank you for your time, energy, support, & encouragement.

My very best,

Set List

Oh Bondage Up Yours

Bad Guy

Rebel Girl

Push It

Run the World

Confident

Crazy in Love”

Dancing  and screaming in the snow, all afternoon long.

speaker after  speaker, we cheer everyone,

High school kids with their signs,

Intersectional analysis everywhere. 

Solidarity or bust.

Yana is there ready to dance with Pussy Grabs Back.

So are Kate and Babs and Karen.

Friends everywhere.

Kates writing about the trees.

Karen is still fundraising for movements.

Babs is  still  cycling. 

Our movements growing and changing and evolving.

I think  about the heroes who perished,

Anne Frank in the attack writing away.

I don't think of all the misery, but of the beauty that still remains.

Story after story.

Think of all the beauty still left around you 

I hope we can remember.

And act on it. 

All power to the imagination. 

Pussy Grabs back marches us out of the park.

Rebel Girl and Push It.

Grabbing back as they march.

Descending into the subway.

Where they bring the crowd to Times Square. 

There is something about the first snow.

For a second there, it feels like the world is still in order.

Winter is coming says one of the signs. 

No one is sure what will happen.

Scout thinks the world is ending when she first sees snow.

In America, we’re always chasing our shadow.

Can we ever learn to know her?

For afternoon walking, we’re learning to embrace her.

It still feels magic. 

"---------- Forwarded message ---------

From: Julia Fusco

Sara, 

There were so many beautiful experiences on Saturday. The crowd loved your music so much. 

So many women got to share their stories and voices and it was so beautiful. But this, this was something especially personal to me, and I want you to know how much it meant. That blog post captured the magic perfectly.

That moment we made our way into the subway, and danced and played in a circle, making music and  creating joy, was the EXACT atmosphere I had hoped for planning this event. I danced. That was my protest. 

That teeny act of defiance, for me, as a person who has suffered with disabilities for years, to be able to dance among like-minded strangers, to be able to share in that experience made every single challenge and pain and frustration and difficulty worth it. Your band gave me something I haven't had for a long, long time.

My father was a drummer and musician. I used to play drums in a band as a teenager. My grandmother used to perform vaudeville acts as a teen herself, with her sisters, who all loved a good silly, excessively loud musical performance. We come from a very joyous music and movement background. I danced formally for 16 years. 

You and your team gave me back those moments of musical joy we used to share at home. I heard the echoes of my father's bass drum  and the heels of my grandmother stomping the ground keeping the beat as we sang "Rebel Girl." I had the opportunity to honor my other Syrian grandmother working those belly dancing moves in the subway station.

That was hands down the most fun I had at the entire thing. I will be forever grateful for giving me the chance to hear my ancestors in your music. 

I write this now, from my bed, knowing the spoons I spent there will take at least 2 weeks to build back up, with an achy pair of hips but a full heart, happy to have spent them on such a valuable experience.

You ALWAYS have a place in our organization. 

Love, 

Julia Fusco-Luberoff

Executive Director

Women's March NYC