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My day at the Women’s March in LA

Stupendous.

That’s what the Los Angeles Women’s March was yesterday and I am so damned proud to have been one of the more than 700,000 who participated in this amazing event. Fueled by the #MeToo and Time’s Up movements, the second massive march in Los Angeles was focused on turning out the vote and bringing attention to the urgency of preparing for the November midterm elections.

I had lowered expectations thinking there was no way this year’s event could be as big and as powerful as last years. I was wrong. This was just as amazing and beautiful and enriching.

To see the way people conducted themselves, once again, it made me so damned proud to be an Angeleno and to be an American. Because while so many of us have felt frustrated with the leadership of our country, we haven’t gone away.

One of the most powerful voices belongs to Lorri L. Jean, CEO of the Los Angeles LGBT Center where I now work. I happened to bump into Lorri and her longtime assistant Adriana Rosales after parking my car and we walked together over to Pershing Square. We made our way to the intersection of Fifth and Hill to watch the kickoff speeches and were joined by some other Center folks who managed to find us in the ever-growing crowd.

Then, time to march to City Hall. I took in the many faces and signs and the energy and loved every minute of it. Chants included: “Love, not hate! That’s what makes America great! and “Hey, hey! Ho, ho! Donald Trump has got to go!”

We had to get Lorri through the crowd to make it to City Hall because she was due to speak on stage. It’s not easy because I witnessed that at an event like this, Lorri is a celebrity herself and people want to take selfies with her and to say hello. I loved seeing this. When we finally got backstage, the first person to greet Lorri was Melissa Etheridge!

I had a badge that said: “Guest of Speaker” so was able to squeeze my way into a place in front of the stage where I found myself sitting next to Joely Fisher. Sat with her as we watched Eva Longoria, Natalie Portman and Constance Wu speak followed by Scarlet Johansson and Alfre Woodard.

Lorri was to speak next to be followed by Viola Davis then Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti.

“Until we see the change we need in Washington, it is our duty, it is our obligation, to do much more than simply hunker down and weather the storm,” Lorri said during her rousing speech. “We must be the storm!”

She had a powerful message about why so many had gathered together a year after the inauguration of U.S. President Donald Trump.

“We are marching for our country and our world,” Lorri said. “We are marching for truth, for integrity, for treating our fellow human beings with dignity and respect. We have spent the last year in fury and resisting the leadership of those who do not believe in truth. Who do not believe in compassion, who do not understand that a strong nation requires liberty and justice for all.”

She reminded the massive crowd jammed into the streets of downtown Los Angeles of how the LGBT community and others have suffered “grave injustices” but have persevered over formidable odds.

“Perhaps the most important lesson of all is that change does not happen on its own,” she said. “It happens because we make it happen. And if there was ever a time for us to come together and make the change our country needs, it’s now. We must act with strength and purpose and determination between now and November and continuing on through 2020, We must do whatever we can to take this power to the polls.”

FILE UNDER: Rallies/Marches

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