In January, a day after the inauguration of President Donald Trump, an estimated 10,000 people flocked to Seneca Falls for a women’s march and rally. Organizers are planning a similar event on January 20, 2018.
Rev. Leah Ntuala, pastor of the First Presbyterian Church of Seneca Falls, says the call to action has not diminished since last year.
"(This) year, I think everybody was worried about what possible changes the administration could make that would roll back rights women had made ground in getting and maintaining, and (now) we've realized some of those fears," Ntuala says.
The 2018 march and rally is called "per-Sisters for Women's Equality." It will begin January 20 at 10 a.m. at the Women's Rights National Historical Park. Ntuala says speakers will call for an end to systemic racism and sexism, violence against women, LGBTQ and disability discrimination and more.
"Even if I'm cisgender, even if I'm a heterosexual, that doesn't mean that the rights of my non-binary or transgender community friends or my family members who identify as LGBTQ don't matter," she says. "It still matters that they can marry; it still matters that the census properly captures their information."
The historic significance of Seneca Falls serves as an inspiration for people across our region and beyond, Ntuala says.
"It's nice to be in a place where you can remember the progress made and feel like you're standing with these ancestral beings in pushing and propelling yourself forward."
Organizers of the event have created a Facebook page to track the number of people who plan on attending.
