Rallies are planned across the region on Saturday, January 21 to show solidarity with those at the Women’s March on Washington. Local marches have been gathering momentum and the national organization says 300 Sister Marches are planned, each with its own program, “from music and speeches to a rally at a suffragist’s grave in upstate New York, to a verbal ‘human mosaic’ of people in Napa Valley sharing their vision for the future.”

“The day after the Presidential inauguration, people from around the country will unite in Washington, DC in the spirit of democracy, dignity and justice,” according to Sandra Weber, co-organizer of a local march. “Some people are travelling to DC, but many of us will not be able to make the trip. When I heard that Seneca Falls was holding a Sister March, I thought it was a great idea for our North Country community to join the movement.” Weber’s in one of three related marches planned for the region.

Participants in the Adirondack-Champlain Valley Women’s March will meet at the grave of Inez Milholland in Lewis Cemetery behind the Congregational Church at the intersection of US Route 9 and Fox Run Road. The event will begin at 10 am on January 21, at the same time as the DC march. After presenting flowers and a short tribute to Inez, the rally will reconvene indoors at the Whallonsburg Grange, Route 22, for songs, discussion, and refreshments.

“In the Adirondack region, the most notable site of the woman’s movement is Inez’s grave. She rode a white horse at the front of the 1913 Suffrage Parade in Washington and became the national symbol of the suffrage movement,” explained Weber, a local author and historian.

“Three years later, Inez Milholland died, at age 30, while campaigning for Votes for Women. Her father, John Milholland (one of the founders of the NAACP), insisted that the body be buried in the Adirondack foothills, near the family’s estate, Meadowmount.”

“Inez was not only a suffrage martyr, she was an advocate of human rights,” said David Hodges, co-organizer of the local event. “Her message – Forward out of darkness, Forward into light – resonates as much today as 100 years ago.”

Weber said the purpose is to stand together and send a message of support for values of human decency, equal rights and freedom from discrimination. The event is free and non-partisan. For more information email Sandra Weber at weber@sandraweber.com

On January 21st, at noon in Glens Falls, marchers will meet in front of Planned Parenthood at Warren and Oak streets, then walk to Representative Elise Stefanik’s office to take a group photo, before continuing to Crandall Library for hot chocolate, speakers, and talk about future planning in the auditorium downstairs.

Also on January 21st, the North Country March for Unity and Respect  will take place in Plattsburgh from 3 pm to 5 pm. Marchers will meet at the Farmers Market Pavilion in the Durkee Street parking lot at 3 pm and walk a loop downtown, ending at Trinity Park.

Two speakers; Butterfly Blaise, Title XI Coordinator at SUNY Plattsburgh and Kelly Metzgar, Interim Director of the Adirondack North Country Gender Alliance will give short speeches, followed by a vigil and a reflective thought presented by Mary Skillen, the President of the Plattsburgh Interfaith Council. Those who do not wish to march may meet at Trinity Park around 4 pm. For more information and updates, click here.

For more information on the Women’s March on Washington and Sister Marches, click here.

Photo: 1924, young suffragists laying flowers on Inez Milholland’s grave, provided.