First, We March: Mobilizing a Generation of Social Justice Advocates

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AMPLIFY

8 min readFeb 7, 2017

On Saturday, January 21, women around the world marched to send a message of unity and stand together for equality. The Global Health Corps (GHC) community was widely represented at marches all over the world — from New York to London, Madison, Washington D.C., Kigali, St. Paul, and beyond. I was profoundly inspired by the realization that I stood in solidarity with a community of leaders and social justice advocates united by our convictions. The GHC community is united by our call to action to strive for health equity the world over. We come together to innovate, accelerate, and engage in all facets of global health to ensure every person has access to quality healthcare.

We took some time to reflect, as marchers and GHC community members, on why we marched, what we took away from the experience, and our intentions as a community moving forward. While our reasons for marching are numerous, they are unified under the umbrella of a value for equity and justice. From our shared conviction that health is a human right sprang our desire to stand up in defense of women’s health and rights, LGBTQ rights, immigrant and refugee safety and inclusion, and dignity for all marginalized people. We marched to take a stand against rhetoric and policies that promote hate, division, oppression, and inequality. We marched unified in our shared identity as social justice advocates — regardless of color, race, religion, gender, or the many other dividing labels society slaps on us.

Why did you march in the Women’s March?

“I marched to show solidarity with women who are marginalized, and to re-emphasize the importance of reproductive freedom…” — Kat Grande, Uganda, 2012–2013 GHC fellow
“I felt infused with the collective power and energy of millions of women across the world. The feeling of connectedness was palpable. As GHC women leaders, we lead with strength, dignity, empathy, and inclusiveness.” — Margot Prendergast, Malawi, 2014 -2015 GHC fellow (Pictured below with Anna Abelson, Zambia, 2014–2015 GHC fellow)
“The events of the past few months have solidified for me the importance and urgency of the kind of leaders that GHC seeks to build: empathetic, kind, and deeply caring people who will always choose the hard and messy path of building connection across difference, and making decisions in partnership and with empathy. I feel renewed conviction that the best way I can lead in this moment is through kindness — to myself as well as others — as well as listening to and showing up to those who will be affected most directly and egregiously by this administration’s work.” — Sarah Endres, Program Coordinator at GHC
“I feel that this community has so much energy, commitment, and drive that a collective pull would go far. Individually, I have committed to asking more of my friends who stand on the sidelines, to helping and encouraging them to engage in the change they want to see happen.” — Meagan Hawes, Rwanda, 2013–2014 GHC fellow
“We marched as a physical demonstration of our intention to stand up for the rights of all members of our community, including access to health care, control over their bodies, and freedom from violence and abuse. We hope that the voices of so many people around the world speaking loudly and marching with pride will be a message of hope to those who are scared about what the future might hold.” — Serena McGovern, Malawi, 2012–2013 GHC fellow
“We marched on the shores of Lake Kariba in solidarity with all those marching around the world. Intolerance and disrespect are never okay. We will keep striving to be and to develop bold, visionary leaders. We will keep raising our voices and working hard to build equitable systems. We will keep hoping and fighting for human rights to be realized worldwide.” — A crew of GHC staff and 2016–2017 fellows who marched in Zambia
“Moving forward after the march, women leaders in GHC must continue to advocate for women’s health as a central part of health equity and ensure gains do not come at a cost to women of color, transgender people, queer people, people with disabilities, abortion rights, or immigration rights.” — Meghana Kulkarni, US, 2016–2017 GHC fellow
“I believe that women have complete ownership of their bodies and they should have the freedom and availability to access safe health care, including and especially sexual and reproductive health care.” — Alina Kostreba, Burundi, 2012–2013 GHC fellow
“Being at the Boston Women’s March with our GHC community brought me so much comfort and hope knowing that we were helping to build a revolutionary, worldwide movement of love, social justice, and solidarity with the marginalized. I feel rejuvenated once again to take proactive steps to fight for our ideals and rights, and no longer sit on the sidelines of our democracy.” — Sonya Soni, US, 2012–2013 GHC fellow
“This march felt like the necessary first step for me to reclaim power and embrace the concept of civic engagement. I think that as GHC is a diverse community, it is important to recognize the layers behind how woman have and will interface with the federal government.” — Karen Chikezie, Rwanda, 2016–2017
“I marched as a male ally who cares about women’s rights, and because as a Mexican immigrant I truly believe in building bridges rather than walls.” — César Omar Domínguez Márquez, US, 2016–2017 GHC fellow
“I marched because I believe that silence is complicity and I refuse to remain silent as my leaders pave their road to victory on a platform of racism, sexism, and hatred. This march represented the largest social movement in the history of the world and when my children ask where I was on the 21st of January, I want to ensure I was on the right side of history — the side that spoke up, and at the very least showed up to raise their voice against the gross and pervasive injustices of our time.” — Jourdan McGinn, Uganda, 2012–2013 GHC fellow (also the organizer of the march in London, UK)
“I marched to stand in solidarity and take action with those who believe in fundamental human rights for all. While we are being manipulated into dividing and blaming each other for this election, the march symbolized what uniting and finding strength in diversity looks like —and it is powerful.” — Alexis Barnes, Zambia, 2012–2013 GHC fellow
“While I was excited about the idea of a women’s march, this march meant a lot more to me than just that — it was a broader demonstration of the ideals that I believe this country should uphold to advance the rights of everyone, as well as the government’s responsibility to protect those rights.” — Emily Ausubel, Uganda, 2015–2016 GHC fellow
“I marched because women, and countless other marginalized people in our country and our world deserve to be valued, respected and treated equally. I left the march empowered and energized, not only because it reminded me of my own ability to contribute in this fight for equality, but because it reassured me that I’m not in this work alone. In St. Paul, I was reminded of this by 100,000 others marching along side me. And after, again I was reminded of this by the vast turnout colleagues, friends and leaders standing in solidarity all over the world.” — Tiffany Aquino, Rwanda, 2012–2013 GHC fellow

What did you come away from the march with?

“Hope! Inspiration. Pride. Renewed sense of purpose.” — Lisa Shawcroft, US, 2014–2015 GHC fellow
“I came away feeling energized and connected, and believing that power structures — while hard to disrupt and change — are not invincible. — Brittany Cesarini, External Communications Associate at GHC
“The feeling that I am not alone, that so many other people are standing with me.” — Maria Guerra-Arias, US, 2016–2017 GHC fellow

It is clear that this is only the beginning. As GHC alumna Kat Grande summed it up, this is “step one of many, many, many steps toward repairing the structures and systems of society that have oppressed so many people.”

As a community, we pushed back on the concept of giving a voice to the voiceless, prioritizing the importance of truly empowering to those who deserve the stage by knowing when to step aside. Joanna Galaris, a current fellow at Partners In Health in Rwanda, explained “The march made me feel like we still have a long way to go towards centering the leadership of people that come from the most marginalized backgrounds in our country. It frustrated me that at such a huge gathering, so many of the speakers came from positions of privilege and already had platforms from which to speak. It made me wonder when we will stop trying to ‘give a voice to the voiceless’ and make the decision to simply pass the mic.”

Moving forward, we will harness the impact and inspiration from our marches around the world. We will engage strategically, advocate with boundless resolve, and powerfully mobilize for equity and social justice. And we’ll start by pushing for more ways to simply pass the mic.