Marking the one-year anniversary of the Women’s March, the forthcoming visually striking book Together We Rise: Behind the Scenes at the Protest Heard Around the World is the definitive oral and visual chronicle of this historic event—and the shaping of our current cultural moment, from #MeToo to the record number of women running for office and beyond—as told by the organizers of the Women’s March in partnership with Condé Nast. Starting on its publication date of January 16, Together We Rise (Dey Street Books) will be available in print, as a digital audiobook and as an eBook.
Featuring contributions from writers, political figures, actresses, artists, journalists, and other prominent feminists, this book offers an unprecedented, front-row seat to one of the most galvanizing—and ongoing—movements in American history. Among others, you will hear from:
Yes, we asked for, and thankfully received, a preview copy of Together We Rise, which we have not put down since. Like the somewhat similarly named When We Rise: My Life in the Movement by our own local LGBT activist phenom Cleve Jones, this truly is a must-have work for your collection. In fact, we have the “Rise” books together here in the office, as if to double their positive energy that practically explodes from their pages. The production values of Together We Rise are superb, with the numerous photos bringing the story to vivid life.
In this book, you will learn about how the historic Women’s March moment came together: how dozens of women who had never met ended up connecting and working around the clock for months; how organizers wrestled with open conflict about the march’s name; how an anonymous member of Congress had given the Women’s March social media team access to the Longworth House Office Building; and more. Through interviews, photographs, and original essays, Together We Rise engages with debates and contributes to discussions around activism, feminism, and the organization of the Women’s March movement.
Here are just a few quotes concerning some of the included topics:
Naming of the Women’s March
“There was also that uproar about what some of the people were calling it at first. They had said it’s the Million Women March—being ignorant of the 1997 Million Woman March in Philadelphia, which had focused on uniting and empowering women of color in America.”
Vanessa Wruble (page 31)
Leadership
“A leaderful movement is a movement where there isn’t a singular person whose vision creates the strategy but rather many people who can be visionary leaders. Ideas and power converge into something more powerful than what one leader could do on their own. It is like the force of a finger versus the force of a fist.”
Janaye Ingram (page 47)
Logistics and Legitimacy
“No insurance company would give us insurance. Thirteen companies denied us. I ended up calling my aunt, who’s in the production side of the music business, to ask who insures Coachella, and I called that broker. The Friday before the rally, at five o’clock, he said, ‘You’ve got a deal—but this is the most expensive policy I’ve ever sold.’ The guy insures Coachella! It ended up being $108,000. For one day.”
Michael Skolnik (page 122)
Intersectionality and Representation
“White supremacy and misogyny is in the fabric of the country. We needed people to see and understand that. Since the march, we’ve seen a lot of women get active, get out there, and say, ‘I’m sorry that I didn’t know what you were dealing with, but I’m here now.’”
Tamika Mallory (page 276)
“When I was approached about the march, I saw it as my opportunity to make sure that communities that I work with—predominantly African American, Latino, poor white, Asian Pacific Islander—were at the center of what would become the Women’s March on Washington. I thought it was important to center these voices … I know the value of bringing people together—regardless of what specific issue they cared about—and really thinking about how we could intersect, how we could have an inclusive and intersectional movement.”
Carmen Perez (page 43)
Daring Discussions
“Women of color had to learn to trust white women, because we felt stabbed in the back by the white community, by white women. Fifty-three percent of them voted for Donald Trump … So there was definitely—animosity is too strong of a word, but there was definitely mistrust.”
Paola Mendoza (page 93)
“Not to mention that we had gone from being pretty divided within our own party and within our own progressive movement. A week after the election, we had people from the Clinton campaign, people from the Sanders camp, and people who I still don’t even know who they voted for, you know, working together pretty harmoniously and really grappling with the difficult issues.”
Sarah Sophie Flicker (page 94)
“If I could be a national surrogate for Bernie Sanders and organize the largest single-day protest after a horrific election with people who worked on the Hillary campaign, then I tell people all the time, ‘Stop with that Hillary/Bernie s–t. We already proved that these two groups of people can work together, ‘cause we were always on the same side.”
Linda Sarsour (page 95)
The Women’s March plans to share revenue generated from Together We Rise with three grassroots, women-led organizations: The Gathering for Justice, SisterSong Women of Color Reproductive Justice Collective, and Indigenous Women Rise. We invite you to attend the Oakland book release party at the Laurel Bookstore (1423 Broadway, Oakland) on January 16 from 6:30 pm–8:30 pm. The Laurel Bookstore (http://www.laurelbookstore.com/) has been a longtime distribution point for the San Francisco Bay Times, so we were delighted to learn that this important and historic new book would be featured there. For more information about the party, go to this Facebook event page: https://www.facebook.com/events/155642311744825/
Band Leader Sara Rosenkrantz
The Nasty Woman band is tuning up for its second public performance: The Oakland Women’s March coming up on January 20.
The band is a community mix of amateur and professional musicians, who came together for the first time at last year’s march. It is named for the off-handed insult of Hillary Clinton delivered by Donald Trump in the third presidential debate.
“We decided to play again,” Nasty Woman Band Originator and Co-organizer Karen MacLeod told the San Francisco Bay Times. “There are even more reasons for women to hit the streets this year. Having a sexual predator as president is very motivating. And everybody had so much fun at last year’s march that we wanted to do it again.”
She and Co-organizers Kathleen Attfield and Sarah Rosenkrantz put out the call on social media and worked out this year’s repertoire, which represents decades of women’s struggles. It includes songs like “Hit Me with Your Best Shot” and “I Am Woman,” along with “La Adelita,” “Freedom Highway,” and the “Union Maid.”
Attfield explained: “There are so many great musicians in community-based protest bands around the Bay Area, and everybody is welcome to play. Last year, we had members of the Musicians’ Action Group, the Montclair Women’s Big Band, Extra Action Marching Band, the San Francisco Lesbian/Gay Freedom Band, the Brass Liberation Orchestra, and a lot of independent musicians from all around the Bay Area.”
There is no doubt that last year’s performance was a huge success, given the incredible energy and dancing in the streets for hours. It had a distinctly celebratory tone.
There is no denying the seriousness of the purpose, though. Co-organizer and Musical Director Sarah Rosenkrantz explained, “The Nasty Woman Band is an outpouring of sound uplifting women’s rights as human beings. We honor her/story, reject patriarchy and white supremacy, welcome allies, and create music. NWB celebrates all women—and feminists—who work for justice and peace.”
Organizers post the sheet music for various instruments, and the band has one rehearsal before the march. In addition to the usual marching band instruments—tuba, sax, clarinet, trumpet, trombone and drums—the band expects to include a helicon, bells, a saw, a rolling piano, and a mother-daughter clarinet trio!
You can link up with the Nasty Woman Band on Facebook at: https://www.facebook.com/NastyWomanBand/
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