It is time for a difference to be created in this society, and this difference can never be achievable without unity.
In the spirit of #TimesUp and #MeToo, women gathered within the streets of LA on January 21, with the purpose of creating a stronger and deeper awareness about unity.
Women deserve to be treated with respect and equality, and this concept can never be accomplished if there are still discrimination, racism and division around the world.
There were a lot of women holding posters and signs demanding the rights for women, a lot of celebrities were there to be involved in the protest to stand up for all of the women and make speeches in order to express the necessity of having unity and justice for each other.
“Refrain from judgment. Be the rock of the understanding. Be the well of empathy,” Olivia Munn said. “Right here, we all have the power to make sure that all of our daughters, nieces, granddaughters, great-granddaughters grow up with the mentality that: If you come for one of us, you come for all of us.”
Viola Davis and Scarlett Johansson also voiced their thoughts and feelings loudly through their speeches while participating in the demand for change and justice protest.
Davis spoke about sex trafficking, domestic abuse and violence towards women. Through her speech, Davis seriously demanded voices and faces for women to be seen and heard, especially those women who were powerless. She urged for women to be seen and be heard.
“I am speaking today not just for the me too’s, because I was a me too, but when I raise my hand, I am aware of all the women who are still in silence. The women who are faceless. The women who don’t have the money and don’t have the constitution and who don’t have the confidence and who don’t have the images in our media that gives them a sense of self-worth enough to break their silence that is rooted in the shame of assault and rooted in the stigma of assault,” Davis said.
Scarlett Johansson’s speech strongly appealed to her hope and desire for changing this world by eliminating all of the inequality and mistreatment that women still to go through.
“I want to move forward, and for me moving forward means my daughter growing up in a world where she does not have to be a victim of what has cruelly become the social norm, that she does not have to fit into the bindings of the female condition,” Johansson said.
Johansson hopes that this change can be created and accomplished through unity, sincerity and collaboration, so that the future generations would never have to experience the same daily struggles of hatred, discrimination, isolation and division that are still going on in this world.
One of the most impactful moments of the Women’s March speeches was by singer Halsey. Her speech involved a five minute poem containing detailed descriptions of sexual abuse. Halsey’s poem, “A Story Like Mine,” recalled several moments where sexual abuse changed the Grammy-nominated singers life.
Here’s a snippet of Halsey’s poem:
It’s 2009 and I’m 14 and I’m crying
Not really sure where I am but I’m holding the hand of my best friend Sam
In the waiting room of a Planned Parenthood
The air is sterile and clean, and the walls are that not gray, but green
And the lights are so bright they could burn a hole through the seam of my jeans
My phone is buzzing in the pocket
My mom is asking me if I remembered my keys ’cause she’s closing the door and she needs to lock it
But I can’t tell my mom where I’ve gone
I can’t tell anyone at all