“I’m very wet, but we’re here,” laughed Bersy LeClair, an Southern Oregon University student attending the third annual Southern Oregon Women’s march on Jan. 19, 2019. She arrived with her friends Karley Johnson and Cassandra McDade despite the rainy weather.
McDade explained that she feels this march is so important– rain or shine– because is communicates that there are people who care.
The SOU Women’s Resource Center (WRC) attended the march, and provided transportation for students on Saturday morning. The WRC also encouraged students to wear red in support of the movement to address the epidemic of murdered and missing indigenous women.
“I know red is a very powerful color,” said Misha Lake, one of the women holding up a banner which red “No More Stolen Sisters.” She explained that her desire to march comes from “Being present to bring awareness to the issues going on revolving around native women and the underrepresented community— the native community specifically native women and native women’s rights.”
On the other side of the banner, Stasie Maxwell, the student co-chair for the Native Student Union said, “I would say today is about raisin awareness but the real work being a every other day of the year…It’s about having and teaching our young girls to be confident and the courage to say that’s not okay.” Maxwell explained that there is an epidemic in the country when over 6,000 women are being ignored. It is her goal to be more active and bring awareness to that.
For more information on how to be more active or for more information on the No More Stolen Sisters movement, contact Maxwell at her SOU email, Maxwells@sou.edu
The Southern Oregon March is in its 3rd year– its 2nd in Medford, Ore. “It really is a community event,” said one of the organizers Sharon Dohrmann. “All the organizers are from here all the speakers are from here.” She explained that she expects these marches to continue until the current president is out of office, but that she and those who put on the march will continue to take the temperature of the community and donors willing to help shoulder some of the monetary burden.
SOU alum, Sharon Rivers, explained that she has been marching for 50 years. She and her two daughters and granddaughters joined her at Saturday’s march. “We need to be out here,” she said. “It gets the word out women are not gonna be silent any longer.”
She, too was inspired by the current administration, “I can’t just sit at home,” she said.
