Day One

On the first day of a Donald Trump presidency, Saturday, Jan. 21, the streets of D.C. as well as cities and towns across the country will be jammed with women and their allies demanding that leaders protect the rights of women through the Women’s March on Washington and sister rallies.

The march arose in response to Trump’s election despite the guy treating women (and near everyone who isn’t a straight, white guy) like second-class citizens. There is fear that Trump’s longstanding degradation of women will influence politics and take away rights women have fought hard to win, such as:

The right to have an abortion. GOP goons keep chipping away at a woman’s right to decide what happens inside her own body and, as president, Trump will be able to fill seats on the Supreme Court, possibly loading it with anti-abortion judges who could overturn the landmark Roe v. Wade.

Wage equality. Trump says he wants men and women to receive equal pay for equal work, but a Boston Globe article from June, 2016 revealed Trump was paying men on his staff one-third more than what he was paying women. Actions speak louder than words, y’all.

Sexual misconduct law. Donald “Grab ‘em by the Pussy” Trump is unlikely to strengthen laws that protect women from sexual and domestic violence.

People across the nation, and in the Valley, will be letting Trump know that women and their allies will take action, together, to protect themselves. Stand with women in D.C. — or in Greenfield, Pittsfield or Boston — on Saturday.

Women’s March on Washington: Saturday, Jan. 21, Washington, D.C.; Greenfield, 12:30 p.m., Town Common on Main Street; Pittsfield, 10 a.m., Colonial Theatre, 111 South St.; Boston, 11 a.m., Boston Common on Tremont Street.

— Kristin Palpini, editor@valleyadvocate.com