Originally, I had a different post planned for this week.  But I couldn’t let the events of this past Saturday go unmentioned.  It was a beautiful (and peaceful) show of support for one another, as well as solidarity against stepping backward in time.  In the words of Yoko Ono, “Let’s give up no more.”  (See below for her song Sisters, O Sisters.)

I looked at pictures from DC, NYC, LA, London, Paris, Prague, and hundreds of cities and small towns in between. I sense renewal is coming to all of us who broke down in tears on November 9th.  I know that these women will not sit by and will not again let politics happen without them.  There is a grassroots movement happening, more women will be stepping forward, starting with the school board, the city council, and the state legislatures….for now.  They will be getting their feet wet and learning the ropes, and they will start moving up, and change will happen in this country.

To honor all of these women, I wanted to share some of my favorite quotes on women’s rights.

I raise up my voice not so I can shout, but so that those without a voice can be heard…we cannot succeed when half of us are held back.   Malala Yousafzai

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We are mothers. We are caregivers. We are artists. We are activists. We are entrepreneurs, doctors, leaders of industry and technology. Our potential is unlimited. We rise.  Alicia Keys

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Don’t get frustrated, get involved. Don’t complain, organize.   Maryum Ali

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You would better educate ten women into the practice of liberal principles than to organize a thousand on a platform of intolerance and bigotry.  Susan B. Anthony

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A woman is human.  She is not better, wiser, stronger, more intelligent, more creative or more responsible than a man. Likewise, she is never less.  Equality is a given.  A woman is human.   Vera Nazarian

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Human rights are women’s rights, and women’s rights are human rights.   Hillary Clinton

Here are pictures from around the world.

Here are links to some organizations that will need our support during the next four years.

Planned Parenthood  For some reason, Republicans take a stand against Planned Parenthood every year and plan to defund it.  But only 3% of their services are abortion-related.  9% are for cancer screenings, and 34% of their services go for contraceptives.  If contraceptives were not available, I imagine the abortion services would need to go up across the nation if Planned Parenthood lost 40% of its budget.

The Southern Poverty Law Center fights hate.  Don’t let anyone try to fool you about the SPLC; they are not a hate group, they track hate groups, they bring lawsuits against hate, and they teach tolerance.  If you’re worried about what the white supremacists are doing then look to the SPLC, because they are already tracking them.  And everyone, please do me a big favor, do NOT use the term alt-right ever again.  It is a term coined by the very white, radical right to try to mainstream the KKK, White Supremacists, and Neo-Nazis.  Don’t do them the favor of using the term to make them more palatable.

Malala The Malala Fund is about ensuring girls around the world have access to a safe, quality education.  We cannot move forward if all of us are not educated.

And now for some musical Sister Power.  This was written in 1972, seems we still need it now.