By Joanie Juster–
There is no denying it: these past few weeks have been brutal. There is a lot of sorrow, frustration, rage, and fear out there. While pundits endlessly dissect the election—what went wrong, and how we got to where we are now—the rest of us have had to face the reality of what to do next, and how we’re going to deal with whatever the new administration brings.
What is the word that keeps rising to the top? Community.
Let’s step back for a minute and remember where we were eight years ago, when our current president-elect upended the-world-as-we-knew-it by winning the election. We were in a state of shock, fear, and despair—and then we rose up to resist. We gathered together and built communities to protect each other. This is the time to lean into those communities that we built, and build new ones as necessary. Our strength comes from joining together.
Do you remember January 21, 2017? Do you remember the feeling of solidarity that swept not just our country, but the world, as women rose up and marched together in unprecedented numbers? Born from Facebook event pages, the Women’s March was organized in record time, and gathered unstoppable momentum leading up to January 21, the day after Inauguration Day.
Women poured into Washington, D.C., in massive numbers—nearly 500,000, making it, at that time, the largest single-day protest in U.S. history. Simultaneously, over 400 sister marches took place all over the country, from major cities to remote villages in Alaska, as well as in 81 other countries. It was reported that around 673 marches took place worldwide, on all seven continents, including Antarctica. Women everywhere felt empowered, and found solidarity with each other.
Since that historic day, Women’s March has organized a number of other marches, both in Washington and in cities around the country, and are now planning marches for January 18, 2025. Will these marches have any effect on those in power? Probably not. But their real value lies in our being able to look around and realize that we are not alone.
The Women’s March was just one of the many communities that grew in response to the shock of the 2016 election. From countless grassroots meetings at our neighbors’ kitchen tables to national nonprofits, people gathered together to listen, to learn, to support each other, and to mobilize. We built communities large and small, local and national. We need those communities now, to remind ourselves of what we can do, and what we care about the most. There may be little that we, as individual citizens, can do on a national level, but there is much we can do on the local level, in the communities in which we live.
We have been through many tough times together, and the next few years are going to test us to the limit. But one thing I know: If we are to survive, both as individuals and as a country, it is the communities that we build that will help us get through. We can, and must, stand up for each other.
Joanie Juster is a long-time community volunteer, activist, and ally.
Published on November 21, 2024
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