Dom Brown
Photography & Social Media Editor
“Hear our vote, Hear our vote, Hear our vote!” This rallying cry resonated among the hundreds of women and other allies on the second annual Women’s March on the Air Capital Saturday, Jan 20. While there was no physical march this year, hundreds of people rallied at city hall in Wichita to support the movement. Apart from speakers, volunteers also were present informing attendees of poling information as well as registering people to vote.
Starting at 11 a.m., supporters gathered to listen to speeches from nine leaders of various community. Here these leaders emphasized the importance of voting. Brandi Calvert, an organizer of the rally, spoke at the event.
“It’s wonderful when we get together, and we come out here and we feel empowered, and we march and we rally, we have to vote,” Calvert said in a speech to the crowd. “In November, we get a new governor, and we get a new secretary of state and 125 house seats are up for election. Women make up 51 percent of the population. We have to vote.”
Last year according to RSVPs on Facebook, about 2,000 people were interested and attended the march from the Keeper of the Plains to city hall. This year about 1,800 people were interested while about 900 people showed up and attended the event.
The march maintained the same message campaigning for equal rights for all people. This year the movement is moving away from protest and will be attempting to affect change through the ballot box. Supporter Kimberly Longhofer was at this year’s rally with her daughter and shared her interpretation of what the march stands for and symbolizes.
“To me, the Women’s March is about showing solidarity with all women, but especially the most disenfranchised women,” Longhofer said. “The march is a way to say to women who have been ignored by their representatives– poor women, indigenous women, trans women, single mothers, disabled women, victims of domestic violence, incarcerated women, and more– that we are here for them, we have their backs, and we’re not going to let our elected representatives continue to ignore them.”
Another supporter Melissa Reynolds also shared words on what everybody should take away from the event.
“We’ve come a long way in regard to equal rights for all,” Reynolds said. “We have a long way to go, but we will not be dragged backwards.”
The march will maintain its status as an annual event; however, if you would like more information, you can reach out to the group from their Facebook community page “Women’s March-Air Capital-Wichita Kansas.”