Impressions Of The 2018 Newark Women’s March

Driving south on Mt. Vernon road to participate in the 2018 Women’s March there was a bottle neck on the brand spankin’ new bridge over 16. Why is all the traffic veering toward the center when there are clearly two south bound lanes? Turns out there was a young man pushing a baby stroller (with small child) walking in the roadway. The sidewalk portion of the brand spankin’ new gateway to Newark was untouched, thickly covered by new fallen snow as well as what the plow pushed off the roadway. Analysis hearkens the reader to the debate over eliminating the pedestrian bridge over 16 just to the west of Mt. Vernon Road’s brand spankin’ new “development.” The justification by the all white, all male Newark City administration (as well as Newark Development Partners) is that pedestrians can use the brand spankin’ new bridge. And who will clear the sidewalk so it is useable by pedestrians (without the danger of sharing the road with cars and trucks)? This was the stuff of the 2018 Newark Women’s March. The large rally was very well attended by a diverse demographic, youth and elderly, female and male, and all in between. It was an active crowd, intently following and vociferously responding to the speakers, not just obligatory applause. The speakers, a small sampling of Newark/Licking County’s vast bounty of women leaders, told it like it was. They spoke truth to power. Since you can’t tell the players without a program, Analysis can’t differentiate individuals with what was said (there was no paper program of speakers/topics). Equity in access to drug rehabilitation, shelters from violence, as well as equity in pay, benefits and health care were just part of the demands. But the demands mainly revolved around the irresponsibility of city, county and state administrators who cater to the private economic power base (through the utilization of public funds) while eschewing human services, such as insuring that a young man and his child can safely cross over State Route 16. It was refreshing to hear speakers plainly articulating what needs to be addressed and is not, and has not been, by the Newark Advocate, by Newark/Licking County’s elected officials, by the businesses who profit from customers not being served by their elected officials. It was an honor to witness and actively participate in this outpouring of peaceful civic action in downtown Newark – something sorely lacking and certainly long overdue. If you missed it, you missed the sound of grass growing under your feet, breaking through the pavement and asphalt, rising up. Did you hear that? It is the sound of women seeking a place on the ballot, and votes being cast by women; the greening of America.