Sonoma County community members protested for public support against the Trump administration’s apparent harmful actions against women, transgender people and other marginalized groups for International Women’s Day in downtown Santa Rosa on March 8.
Fear for women and transgender people’s safety has intensified as President Donald Trump rolls out new executive orders, one rescinding the federally protected right to obtain an abortion after Roe v. Wade was overturned in 2022, according to The National Women’s Law Center.
Federal Lawmakers are also attempting to impose a new congressional bathroom ban that stops transgender women from using restroom facilities on Capitol Hill, according to ABC News. This is notable because Delaware Rep. Sarah McBride is the first openly transgender person in Congress.
More than 500 people buzzing with energy and passion trickled into Old Courthouse Square by 11 a.m. Saturday.
Santa Rosa Junior College students Julian Cook and Lydia Vieth, both 18, were some of the younger protestors at the demonstration.
“Shit’s getting so crazy right now,” Cook said. “I feel like it is really time to organize on so many levels, especially with the new Trump Presidency. I feel like we really can’t afford to not be coming together and being physical like this.”
Cook emphasized the importance of speaking up and being an ally, even if you are not personally affected right now.
Former Santa Rosa Junior College grounds manager, Nancy Moorhead, 79, also had a message for younger generations.
“Stay really aware,” Moorhead said. “My granddaughter is one, just bored by the news, but they need to stay aware, pay attention.”
Moorhead said she would love to see intergenerational connections being made in the community. “It would be great to have a connection with younger people.”
Kathy Cheshire, 81, and her wife Lansing Wu, 90, were pleased to see people from different demographics come out to show their support for a cause close to their hearts.
“We need equality,” Cheshire said.
Windsor resident Lorene Romero, 64, said she fears that her marriage to her wife Gail could be jeopardized if the United States continues on its current path. She stressed the importance of showing up for your community.
“I will never go through life with my head hung down feeling regretful,” Romero said.
Romero and her best friend, Judi Marley, wanted to show their support to the community on Saturday.
“[I’m] 77 and still complaining, still protesting, still marching,” Marley said.
She discussed her generation’s fight for equal rights and her disappointment to be back in the same position decades later.
“I am here to protest the direction that this country is heading, which is backwards,” Marley said. “Women, particularly my age, had all kinds of problems before, and now we’ve gotten used to the rights that we have, and they’re being taken away. And I am really concerned for younger women.”
Mary Ellen Munc, 78, and her daughter-in-law Mollie Munc, 51, made this International Women’s Day a family affair.
“We are demonstrating for the rights of women and underrepresented populations,” Mollie Munc said.
Mary Ellen Munc suffers from aphasia, so her daughter-in-law helped communicate her message.
“We absolutely need to stand up for ourselves. We are equal and as important as everybody else. Humans are equal, and they need to be treated as such,” the Muncs said.
