In OC, hundreds march on Boardwalk for women's rights
On a gloomy Saturday draped with a thick blanket of fog, marchers made their way to the Ocean City Inlet to voice their opinion.
The event was in tandem with the Women's March on Washington, a national event focused on women's rights.
Starting at the Inlet, marchers proceeded north on the Boardwalk to the plaza at Division Street. The march emphasized equal pay, representation and reproductive rights, as well as non-woman specific issues, such as public education and the environment.
Local march participant and member of the Worcester Democratic Women's Club Judy Davis said the intent of the Ocean City event was to provide a voice for locals.
"We wanted to make it possible for Worcester County residents who couldn't make it to D.C. to still get involved," Davis said.
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Beginning at just past 10 a.m., marchers organized near the Inlet. A modest crowd of around 50 quickly swelled to hundreds of marchers, many bearing signs in protest of changes to reproductive rights, the Affordable Care Act, illegal immigration reform and and a litany of other issues the incoming administration of Donald Trump has focused on.
"I see the changing environment and I'm out here to voice my dissent," said Erin Jones of Milton.
Carla Manning said she felt like they are reliving history from decades ago.
"It seems we're back to fighting the same things we fought 60 years ago," the Millsboro resident said.
Sue Berzins, of Frankford, was in Ocean City for women's rights and healthcare security. While noting a variety of changes in the American political landscape as her motivation for marching, cited the proposed abolishing of the Affordable Care Act as a particular cause for concern.
"My husband and I would both lose coverage," Berzins said. "We're not old enough to receive Medicaid, and we pay our premiums. That's something we're concerned with."
Berzins also said that her support of Planned Parenthood and reproductive rights stood in juxtaposition to cutting the act.
"I believe women have the right to choose what they do with their bodies," she said. "I'm pro-choice, not pro-abortion, and funding Planned Parenthood reduces the need for abortion to begin with."
Monica Link of Rehoboth Beach said her concern lies in a belief the incoming administration may not be concerned with human rights.
"Yesterday, right after he was inaugurated, the White House website pulled any mention of civil rights," Link said. "That was really something that concerned me."
Beginning at 11 a.m., marchers took to the Boardwalk, a sprawling crowd that stretched several blocks letting out chants of "We shall overcome" and "This is what democracy looks like."
At the Division Street Plaza, the march came to an end, with protesters convening for speeches from former Salisbury Mayor Jim Ireton and Josh Nordstrom, chairman of the Worcester County Democratic Central Committee.
"I'm here for my nieces, I'm here for my mother, I'm here for my sisters, I'm here for women everywhere," Ireton said.
Ireton gave a rallying call for marchers to fight back against any perceived injustice, and to preserve human rights.
"I think this fog is indicative of how we've all felt the last three months," Ireton said. "But remember, reproductive rights are human rights, LGBT rights are human rights, civil rights are human rights, discourse and dissent are patriotic and freedom is for everybody."
Following Ireton's speech, Nordstrom gave a call for unity.
"When we want to make change, we need to do it together," Nordstrom said. "Not just today, but tomorrow, and the next day. Getting involved is the only way we're going to survive."
Following Ireton and Nordstron's speeches, the peaceful, well-organized event, guarded at its seams by Ocean City police, quickly dissipated, leaving a few straggling marchers mingling, and the occasional cry of "this is what democracy looks like" ringing through the fog.