Awake and aware

For citizens concerned about a future under Trump, the Women’s March on Oklahoma signaled hope

The morning of the Women’s March on Oklahoma, one of the hundreds of sister marches organized around the world to coincide with the Women’s March on Washington, was chilly, gray, and felt aggressively early for what would usually be a day for a Sacred Saturday Sleep-in. My sister and I loaded up the car and hit the turnpike, making the groggy commute to the capital to witness and participate in what would become part of one of the largest mass protests in American history.

After the historically divisive and contentious election, we were not sure what to expect from an event held on the first day of the Trump presidency in what may be the reddest state in the Union. But when we arrived, an hour before the rally was to start, the area in front of the capitol steps was filled with thousands of people standing shoulder-to-shoulder, homemade signs hoisted in the air. One read “Grandma is Pissed.” Another said “Sorry for the inconvenience, we are trying to change the world.” Others spoke directly of their lived experience: “This rape survivor won’t be silenced.”

Many were funny in tone, and some were directed at Trump and his administration, such as “To Russia, with Love: Take Trump Back” and “A tremendously bad choice! Bigly bad! Sad!” 

Then there were the kids with their own signs, many of them homemade and made up of sweet and simple scribbles, some sitting on the shoulders of their caretakers or riding along in strollers or hanging off a parent in a sling or marching on their own or sleeping in a wagon while people came together around them. Twelve-year-old Luka Auld attended the march with his mom, Tulsa restaurateur Libby Billings. His sign read “My sister for President,” a to-the-point reminder that little girls are still waiting for that glass ceiling to be broken. 

Organizers say the crowd numbered around 12,000, which is 1.5 times the capacity of ONEOK field where the Tulsa Drillers play. People from all walks of life were out in force. Veterans dotted the crowd, their ball caps with service details embroidered on the front visible among the throngs of people, as did men and women of color, many of them veterans of the Civil Rights and Black Lives Matter movements. People with disabilities arrived to protest the president’s treatment of a disabled reporter. Muslim women in headscarves and clergy in collars marched side-by-side for religious tolerance and freedom; Native Americans, some in regalia, marched to defend their sovereignty; silver-haired women and men who’ve marched for the ERA and in support of reproductive and women’s rights more times than they can count marched yet again. Members of the LGBTQ community working to preserve rights only recently granted were there, as were teenagers and young adults who had never attended a rally or protest. All peacefully assembled in solidarity on Saturday, Jan. 21.

The mood was one of hope and a resolute sense of purpose. Linda Toure of Oklahoma City had worried about the turnout, unsure if Okies would show up for something that had been oversimplified by the media as merely an anti-Trump rally. 

“I walked up here thinking I’d see 500 people, and the hope I felt when I saw all of these people was that we are not alone in this fight,” Toure said.

“That’s right,” said Kim Steele, Toure’s friend and fellow marcher. “The clock won’t be turned back on our watch. I am here for the resistance … Black women have been under siege for our entire lives, but I am pleased that our white sisters are feeling it and are here. I’m here for women’s health, Black Lives Matter, and to resist this white male, white supremacist bullshit … and to resist discrimination based on religion, gender, identity. Wrong is wrong.” 

Bailey Hoffner who attended with her small son, Wolfie, who was happily tucked into a stroller, said she also felt encouraged by the record-breaking numbers at the capitol. She works with Together Oklahoma, a citizen coalition that works to empower citizens to help influence policy by engaging their legislators. 

“It’s a bizarre feeling to be from Oklahoma and to feel more inspired and hopeful about Oklahoma than the national level,” Hoffner said. “I’m just full of hope, especially today, surrounded by all these people.” 

Crystal Rodriguez brought her two young sons to march with Comanches on the Move, a group formed in opposition to the Dakota Access pipeline, as well as the Comanche Trail pipeline and The Plains pipeline, both of which will run through Oklahoma. 

“I have kids, I want them to know that everyone is here for a woman’s march, but it is also for lesbian, gay, trans, people of color and all the other people who aren’t represented very well through Trump and his cabinet. We are here to stand up for our rights and to teach my kids that is what you’re supposed to do,” Rodriguez said.

As diverse as the crowd was, Cpl. John Pettyjohn, USMC stood out. After the march ended (which took longer than expected due to the enormity of the crowd), he leaned against the back end of a city truck, just on the edge of the crowd that was reconvening for the rally. With a bright red cap emblazoned with yellow embroidery perched on top of his head and dog tags around his neck, he looked relaxed and resolute.

Cpl. Pettyjohn is a longtime democrat and president of the Oklahoma Democratic Veterans Committee. Originally from southeastern Oklahoma, he has dedicated his life to public service, including thirty years as a service officer, and helped raise two daughters and four stepdaughters, which he joked explains his lack of hair. He came out to support those daughters, among many other reasons.

“I’m here to show support for, well, every one of us,” Cpl. Pettyjohn said. “This is for all of us. If we attack any part of our population, we attack us all. As a former marine I think it’s important that we standup, not only while we serve, but also after we serve. This is a service to my community. In the past we have just not been active enough. This is beautiful. It’s a tremendous feeling to be here with all these people from every walk of life, coming together to show support for each other. We are awake, we aware, we are going to be talking more on state and local levels … We just need to standup a little stronger and pull each other together.”

For more from Amanda, read her article on the Osage Nation Museum.