On Jan. 18, the folks who organized the post-inauguration Women’s March in 2017 are putting together another march to protest Trump Administration 2.0. I think I’ll be going to brunch that day instead.
On Election Day, America decided that if the choice was between a female former prosecutor with a plan to give people money toward a down payment on their first house and a man with 34 felony convictions whose ineptitude during a global pandemic led to the death of 1 million people, they’d go with the felon.
America be America-ing. It is what it is.
I’ve been trying to catch up on all the writing I need to do to finish my Election Day coverage, so I haven’t really spent much time on social media. So, imagine my surprise when the first thing that I saw on my Facebook timeline shortly after I got on the site was an advertisement for a Women’s March.
It wasn’t a total surprise. I saw a story on it and thought that after everyone told the organizers that this was a bad idea because the time to march was to the polls on Nov. 5, it would go away.
But it ain’t. It’s still happening.
It’ll happen without me.
Don’t get me wrong, I love a grand, performative demonstration as much as the next reporter. The stories kind of write themselves, they don’t take much work, and you’re even allowed to stretch your photography muscle.
But frankly, the last thing we need from the people who decided yet again to vote against their own interests is more performance art. While it makes sense to protest against President-elect Donald Trump and the rather draconian policies enshrined in the Project 2025 manual he’s going to be following to the letter, an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.
In case you haven’t noticed, there’s not going to be a lot of opportunities for that pound of cure. In fact, a lot of folks are going to get really hurt here, and chanting in the streets while wearing a pink hat isn’t going to help with that.
Nor is wearing a blue bracelet. One thing that I will hand the folks that I consider allies is that they don’t have to use a talisman to make themselves seen, Their actions speak for them, and in some cases, they’re even angrier than I am right now.
Nor is my taking time out of a schedule that includes co-hosting Hall Monitor, writing for several newspapers and magazines, and preparing for the release of my book. I don’t have time to see you prance around in protest of something you could have prevented. I have the stories of those who are going to catch hell through no fault of their own because of this administration to tell.
As I said on Hall Monitor this week, Black women are tired. And while I don’t presume to speak for all of them, my circle of friends, both on social media and in person, is looking at this invitation to come to Washington, D.C., to march against something you could have prevented is a non-starter.
So, instead, I’m hoping to go to a nice brunch with some of my friends and start celebrating the Martin Luther King Jr. Holiday while it still exists.
We’re not even going to talk about the fact that someone who is the total antithesis of everything King stood for is being inaugurated on the actual holiday. That would be too depressing.
Like I said, I won’t be going. But if the idea of performance art on the streets of D.C. appeals to you, go to https://act.womensmarch.com/survey/ads_ms_20241108_DD_FB_JanMarchPledge_Value/?source=ads_ms_WM_20241108-DD-FB-JanMarchPledge-Value_org-Natl-1865-MF_a681-WM-black-stat-1200×1200-copy1&fbclid=IwY2xjawGd2wtleHRuA2FlbQIxMQABHYc5gREf_oKXWN7RRZjpRtYtl1KDAkQuLUD8MPlTKscgM2rUtY3bwdgVfw_aem_TsKTLG57IuWCuEEhfujVPg to sign up.
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