Activists rally for International Women’s Day

"I'm anti-war and a feminist," said 74-year-old Nancy Keiler of Code Pink, an organization dedicated to issues of peace and social justice, at Civic Center Plaza in San Francisco on March 8, 2018. Photo by Adina J. Pernell/Special to The Guardsman.

By Adina J. Pernell

apernell@theguardsman.com

 

March is International Women’s Month and on Mar. 8, 2018, Women’s March San Francisco teamed up with a host of organizations including Democratic Socialists of America: San Francisco, Workers’ Voice/La Voz de los Trabajadores, Refuse Fascism Bay Area, Bay Area for Reproductive Justice, International Women’s Strike (IWS) National Committee and March 8th and International Socialist Organization to organize the San Francisco International Women’s Day of Action and Rally.

The rally as part of the International Women’s Strike movement was a call to action against gender inequality, racism, and injustice. In a massive show of solidarity, women from over 50 countries across the world banded together under an umbrella of various social causes with a focus on women’s rights.

A crowd of women held signs that reflected a myriad of political and social ideas surrounding inclusivity and social justice, stood in the Civic Center Plaza facing City Hall. The MC of the event, Elizabeth Lanyon, who represented National Center for Lesbian Rights, Women’s March San Francisco, Dyke March and San Francisco Pride, led the event, introducing each speaker with marked enthusiasm.

The International Women’s Strike was established in October 2016 to give voice to the political and social issues of women all over the world and is continuing to hold a space for recourse and expression.

 

Women's March San Francisco's banners waved in the breeze at  International Women's Day at Civic Center Plaza in San Francisco on March 8, 2018. Photo by Adina J. Pernell/Special to The Guardsman.
Women’s March San Francisco’s banners waved in the breeze at International Women’s Day at Civic Center Plaza in San Francisco on March 8, 2018. Photo by Adina J. Pernell/Special to The Guardsman.

 

"I'm anti-war and a feminist," said 74-year-old Nancy Keiler of Code Pink, an organization dedicated to issues of peace and social justice, at Civic Center Plaza in San Francisco on March 8, 2018. Photo by Adina J. Pernell/Special to The Guardsman.
“I’m anti-war and a feminist,” said 74-year-old Nancy Keiler of Code Pink, an organization dedicated to issues of peace and social justice, at Civic Center Plaza in San Francisco on March 8, 2018. Photo by Adina J. Pernell/Special to The Guardsman.

 

Blanca Misse, from the California Faculty Association, spoke to the crowd at Civic Center Plaza in San Francisco on March 8, 2018. Photo by Adina J. Pernell/Special to The Guardsman.
Blanca Misse, from the California Faculty Association, spoke to the crowd at Civic Center Plaza in San Francisco on March 8, 2018. Photo by Adina J. Pernell/Special to The Guardsman.