“The Women’s March has been successful in terms of getting people to continue to show up, be active and make their voices heard. But more importantly, we have put an intentional focus on educating people about issues they may not have been aware of in the past, because they aren’t personally affected. We have been very intentional about raising the concern around race in America, issues within the African American community, within the immigrant community and within the Muslim community. For us, that has been the greatest contribution of the Women’s March: unapologetically and blatantly speaking about issues that are difficult and uncomfortable, but that we really need to unite around in order to make change.”
—TAMIKA MALLORY, CO-CHAIR, WOMEN’S MARCH
“When I decided to organize what later would become the largest mass mobilization in U.S. history, I didn’t hesitate to take action. Some ideas can be so clear, and you can have such immediate passion, that you just can’t say no. Before the Women’s March one of my mantras was, it’s either ‘Hell, yes!’ or ‘Heck, no.’ Don’t do anything if it’s a ‘meh.’ For me the Women’s March was a big ‘Hell, yes!’ And it became such a huge momentous thing because it was a ‘Hell, yes!’ for millions of other women, too. People just hopped on planes and trains and went there. It was an unbelievable ‘Hell, yes!’ Amtrak was completely sold out the first day. It was the same with some plane routes. So many people were saying, ‘Hell yes!,’ with no excuses and no hesitation. Trust your gut, don’t let anyone stop you from pursuing your vision, and keep saying ‘Hell, yes!’ to what moves you.”
—BOB BLAND, CO-CHAIR, WOMEN’S MARCH
“If women decided on January twenty-first to say, ‘You know what, they won’t miss me at the Women’s March, so I’ve decided not to attend,’ we wouldn’t have had anybody at the Women’s March. It was the importance of every individual showing up that made it the largest single-day protest in U.S. history. So, keep showing up if you hear there’s a local rally, if there’s a rally in front of a member of Congress or U.S. Senate office, even if you can just show up for a little bit, even if you are on the way home from work and want to stop by just for a little bit, your body, your physical body, adds numbers and adds power. People need to understand that their showing up, their participation, their staying informed and aware is for the survival of some of our fellow Americans. Also, stay informed, don’t help spread misinformation, and let’s stay united because these folks want to divide us. One of the best ways to stand up to this type of hate and vitriol is to say, ‘We will not allow you to divide our community.’”
—LINDA SARSOUR, CO-CHAIR, WOMEN’S MARCH
“Women should absolutely keep marching because it demonstrates to the world that women need to put their bodies on the line and show solidarity for each other’s issues and to show what true resistance looks like—grounded in love. Oftentimes we say the future is female but we’ve always been resisting—we’ve been the backbone of every movement effecting change. It’s our responsibility as women to show younger generations of girls that they too can lead.”
—CARMEN PEREZ, CO-CHAIR, WOMEN’S MARCH