Five Coach buses carrying hundreds of residents departed Ridgefield on Saturday en route to Washington D.C. to participate in the Woman's March on Washington. Aboard the buses were four eighth grade Ridgefield Academy students.
Today, those four students, Ella Norwitt, Maggie Toft, Stella Dubin, and Zoie Bernstein addressed the entire student body in a morning assemby where they spoke about the March and shared with peers, teachers and staff their reasons for participating.
Below is a transcript of today's all-school Assembly.
Ella Norwitt:
This past election has demonized many Americans -- immigrants, Muslims, the LGBTQ Plus community, Native people, people of all different skin colors, people with disabilities, survivors of domestic violence, and women. This Saturday women and men from all over the country came together to peacefully protest our rights. In total, there were 673 marches across the world, with marches on every single continent. In total there were over 4,814,00 marchers. Some places where marches took place include the Bahamas, Georgia (the state and the state), Saudi Arabia and even Antarctica. My friends and I, and other people in the RA community, participated in the March in Washington DC which was truly amazing.
Maggie Toft:
I participated in the March because there was recently a discussion of certain laws being changed which could possibly result in certain rights being taken away. This has made women concerned, immigrants concerned, the people of the LGBTQ Plus community and environmentalists concerned and minorities concerned. I also believe that affordable health care is a right and not a luxury and everyone should have access to it. I march alongside my friends so that my voice can be heard and our voices can help shape a better future.
Stella Dubin:
I march because people in positions of power should take proven science seriously. They must take assault of all types seriously. And that they cannot ignore any voice in our country. I march because it’s not normal that millions of people around the world were so furious about the current political situation in our nation that they decided to march. I march for my grandma who lived her life wanting to see a president that looked like her, and never got to have the opportunity to see that. I fully acknowledge and accept how elections work in our country but this is what democracy looks like – it looks like people choosing who leads them and then the people who disagree with those elected officials expressing what is bothering them and having leaders hopefully hear their cries. I march because it is well within my rights.
We entered this march as individuals but came out as a complete embodiment of passion and hope for the future. To stand up among half a million others in the Capitol, for the rights that we deserve was beyond empowering. It was life changing. All around me marched a sea of individuals coming together to support one another and fight for nothing but acceptance and love. Across planet Earth millions of humans showed up and showed us all that when we come together in spite of fear and doubt, we form something bigger and more beautiful than we could ever dream.
Ella Norwitt:
I marched to inspire. I’m only 13 years old and even I can see everything wrong with our country and its leaders. So many people younger and older than me still don’t understand how much discrimination there still is in America. I want to show everyone that someone as young as me can make a change. And I march because my body is my choice. Thank you.
Part of a national movement and in the spirit of democracy, the Women’s March on Washington mission is to honor the champions of human rights, dignity, and justice. Saturday's March attracted a massive crowd estimated at 250,000 people.
*Images courtesy of Glori Norwitt