Reproductive rights, domestic violence and gender equality are just a few of the issues women across South Florida will stand up for this weekend.
The fourth annual Women’s March will take place Jan. 18 at the Betty T. Ferguson Recreational Complex in Miami Gardens at 10 a.m. It’s one of dozens of such events being held across the country in solidarity with the main event in Washington, D.C. Two marches will be held in New York City, which plan to join in Times Square.
Before the march starts at noon, attendees – who have been asked to bring signs and megaphones – will hear speeches beginning at 11 a.m.
“I hope to achieve connections, build new relationships and just see others moved and liberated by our actions to stand together as women. We really have the power to break our own chains,” said activist Candii Reid, who will be speaking at the event.
Reid is the founder of Girls With Scars, an organization dedicated to providing support and mentorship to young women recovering from trauma.
Other featured speakers include Melba Pearson, who is running for Miami-Dade state attorney, and State Rep. Dotie Joseph, a North Miami Democrat.
“Women have to step up and get involved. That’s one of the remarkable things that the Women’s Marches have done. We have to build continually on this momentum and this movement,” she said.
For her part, Joseph said she is motivated to be the voice of those often ignored.
“As a black Haitian-American woman with a neck injury, I stand at the intersection of sex, race, disability and immigration status. I do not take lightly my responsibility to be the voice of issues that would otherwise remain unspoken,” she said.
The organization’s work won’t stop the day of the march. Women’s March Florida has organized another event on Jan. 22 in Tallahassee. People from throughout the state will travel to Florida’s capital for the event.
“On the anniversary of Roe v. Wade, Women’s March Florida will take to Tallahassee to fight to preserve our reproductive rights under the greater movement for reproductive justice … We anticipate anti-abortion legislation during this week in Tallahassee, and we will march, rally, visit our legislators and make our presence known in the Capitol,” the group said in a news release.
Click here to register for the march. In addition to the event in Miami Gardens, similar rallies will be held on the same day in Key West, Naples and Fort Meyers.
Samantha Sarmiento contributed to this report.
