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Million Woman March seen as step toward unity
Grass-roots activism on display in Philadelphia
In this story:October 25, 1997
- Women seek solutions to community problems
- 'Challenging the status quo'
- 'This march is us'
- Related stories and sites
Web posted at: 8:56 a.m. EDT (1256 GMT)PHILADELPHIA (CNN) -- Thousands of women began gathering in a light rain early Saturday for the Million Woman March that organizers hope will give mostly African-American women a chance to pull together and address issues that affect their lives.
Women armed with umbrellas staked out positions as early as 5 a.m. EDT (0900 GMT) in the "City of Brotherly Love" for the daylong event, which began with a prayer service. A gala ceremony was held Friday night.
City officials prepared for up to 600,000 to attend the events. Speakers were to include Winnie Madikizela-Mandela, the former wife of South Africa President Nelson Mandela, and U.S. Rep. Maxine Waters, D-California.
"Sisters that I have never met before are networking. I just feel great," said Jackie Wright, 53, who arrived early from Okemos, Michigan, with her daughter and son.
"I'm hoping that we'll go back to what it used to be like a long time ago ... with sisters who are working together," said participant Marian Stevenson.
"It used to be that you could walk down the street, and a neighbor could look out for your child if you had to be at work -- and it worked, a long time ago," she said. "We're hoping that we'll come back to that unity and loving familyhood that we had."
Women seek solutions to community problems
Hundreds of thousands of women were expected to take part in Saturday's rally, meant to strengthen bonds in the black community and lift women's spirits. Modeled after the Million Man March held in Washington, D.C., two years ago, the Million Woman March will feature a day of speeches, prayer and music.
However, unlike the men's rally, which drew support from leaders such as the Rev. Jesse Jackson, the women's march has been organized by women from all walks of life who are fed up with crime, unemployment, teen pregnancy and other social problems.
"The success of the march will depend on all of the black women who attend," said Phile Chionesu, a grassroots activist, Philadelphia business owner and mother who came up with the idea and organized the march with Asia Coney. "Something had to happen for black women," Chionesu said.
"Black women have taken care of everyone else since the time we've been in this country," she said. "We've taken care of white women, white men, white children ... our own men, our own children. And now it's time that we take care of ourselves."
But there have been problems.
Co-chairwoman Asia Coney paid for the $10,000 city march permit just before the deadline. The airline ticket for Mandela wasn't purchased until Thursday, two days before the event.
Also, organizers had announced that Coretta Scott King, the widow of Martin Luther King Jr., and Rosa Parks, a civil rights heroine from Detroit, would attend, but both bowed out months ago. Organizers' voice mail boxes frequently have been too full to take messages, and telephone calls go unreturned.
"This whole thing has had controversy," Chionesu acknowledged Thursday.
'Challenging the status quo'
Still, organizers say they are proud that they never handed the march over to marketers or banked on a big name the way the Million Man March was associated with Nation of Islam leader Louis Farrakhan.
"We have done things that have challenged the status quo," Chionesu said.
Details of the event were spread mostly by word-of-mouth, fliers and leaflets, small gatherings, black-run media and the Internet, said Habeebah Ali, a Philadelphia employment activist who also helped organize the march.
"Sisters have been talking about this for a long time," she said. The word-of-mouth approach is meaningful to women, she explained. "That's why organizing at the grass-roots level was so important."
'This march is us'
The official Million Woman March Web page on the Internet has been registering more than 15,000 hits a day this week. Organizers said 125,000 women were arriving from Chicago and New York City alone.
"I would strongly suggest we will have a million plus," Chionesu said. "There truly is power among the people."
Rallies are scheduled to take place at the historic Liberty Bell and at Penn's Landing. But the main venue is Benjamin Franklin Parkway, a mile-long boulevard lined with trees, flags and fountains that stretches between Philadelphia's huge Greek-style art museum and City Hall.
Retired Chicago police officer Cheryl Thomas-Porter, 40, said she heard about the march from her best friend. She then joined the regional organization board, which was sending 65,000 people to the march by bus, train and plane.
"This march is us. We made this march," she said. "The march is the contribution of every single woman of African descent."
Correspondent Cynthia Tornquist, The Associated Press and Reuters contributed to this report.
Related stories:
- Women gather for show of unity - Oct. 24, 1997
- 100-year-old woman to join march in Philadelphia - October 24, 1997
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