Women’s March Draws Crowd

Marchers set off from the high school. Photo by Pan Foreman/KMXT
Marchers set off from the high school. Photo by Pam Foreman/KMXT

Kayla Desroches/KMXT

The Women’s March on Washington Saturday began in part as a response to the rhetoric of this past election cycle and concern surrounding the new administration. It grew into a worldwide movement which appears to have shifted to meet the needs of its participating areas.

Kodiak was one of the communities in Alaska to host a Women’s March the day after inauguration, and organizers expressed hope the march would be a non-partisan, all-inclusive event that would create change on a local level.

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It was a chilly day in Kodiak and, despite snow from the day before, a large crowd had gathered in front of the high school to register for the march. They’d brought their children, their dogs and their signs, and while we were waiting for the march to begin, I talked to people about why they were participating.

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The march continued for one and a half miles down the main drag, which gave plenty of drivers the chance to honk their opinions.

Along the way, I got the chance to speak with the original organizer, Breanna Peterson.

“Why did you feel the need to hold a march like this?” I asked.

“Honestly, the rhetoric of the election, or the whole election campaign, and then the results of the election really jolted me in a way I didn’t expect, and I really needed to do something.”

“It is very different holding a march in a small community versus a metropolis like New York City, so that’s going to be a different set of challenges,” I said. “What was challenging for you about bringing a movement like this to such a small area?”

“I honestly wasn’t sure how receptive people would be to it. I know that there’s a huge variety of opinions and I wasn’t sure how the Kodiak community would receive it, and I was honestly surprised at the amount of positive response we got. Just – you can see here the amount of people that have showed up that feel – you know, we’re all marching for different reasons and some of them are the same, some of them are different, but we’re all here and we all showed up because we all believe that women’s rights are equal rights, and I think that’s the main focus of the march is just believing in equal rights for everyone.”

I went down the line and spoke with people along the way.

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According to an unofficial count from organizers, over 300 marchers attended the event.

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