Trenton is expected to play host to one of the satellite or sister marches being held on Jan. 21, 2017, the day after President-elect Donald Trump is sworn into office.
Hundreds of thousands of women - and men - are expected to gather in Washington, D.C. and across more than 200 venues nationwide on Jan. 21 to make their views heard on a wide menu of issues: racial justice, gender equality, immigration rights.
Trenton is expected to play host to one of these satellite or sister marches, with a particular emphasis on reproductive rights and health-care access.
The local rally is billed as an alternative for those who cannot travel to Washington, but it's also a powerful way for Garden State women to raise their voices - collectively - in the face of threats a new administration in the White House poses to human rights and women's rights.
Participants, many of them dressed in purple, will listen to speakers at Patriots Theater at the War Memorial starting at 10 a.m., then march about half a mile to the steps of the State House on West State Street.
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"This march is about recognizing the strength that lies in our diverse communities and the empowerment that comes with setting aside differences for the protection of our rights, our safety, our health and our families here in New Jersey," said Elizabeth Meyer, founder of the Women's March on New Jersey.
Our state's women are scared, and for good reason.
They have watched state budget after state budget give short shrift to women's health. They've seen their GOP lawmakers push a bill with the disingenuous title of the "Pain-Capable Unborn Child Protection Act," based on discredited "science" and nothing more than a back-door entry into limited abortion rights.
And they know there is a president-elect ready to take the oath of office the day before the march whose minions will plow through hard-fought rights women and their allies have won over generations.
This is a man, remember, who bragged outright about grabbing at women's private parts, a man who rates women according to how hot they are and how well-shaped their breasts are.
New Jersey's women hold public-school education in high regard, yet they know the designated secretary of education scorns public schools. They savor their state's famed beaches and beautiful parks, yet they know they're getting a new director of the Environmental Protection Agency who has made a career out of suing ... the Environmental Protection Agency.
They welcome diversity, even embrace it, yet they're looking at a commander in chief who has made a career out of mocking minorities, the disabled, the "other."
A rally that began online as a grass roots movement has morphed into a national cry from the heart. Now the streets of Trenton are about to ring with that pain.
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