Reproductive rights among key issues for Erie's annual Women's March at Perry Square
Editor's note: After agreeing to participate, the Erie High School marching band will no longer play at Saturday's Women's March and Rally. The change was due to Erie School District policy on political activity, Erie schools Superintendent Brian Polito said.
A Women's March and Rally will be held Saturday in Erie to mark the anniversary of the first Women's March in five years ago in Washington, D.C.
Update:In shift, Erie High marching band will not march at women's rally at Perry Square
Selena King, the event coordinator, said the march will coincide with the national march happening Saturday in Washington.
"Five years ago was the first one in D.C. and the first one in Erie when the fight for reproductive rights first happened," King said. "So here we are five years later in the same fight for that, especially with the overturning of Roe v. Wade."
2017: Thousands demonstrate in Women's March on Erie
King said the rally at Perry Square will touch on more than reproductive rights.
"We’re also looking at this upcoming election and what we have on the ballot," she said. "Again, the fight for equal pay, looking at issues in equity and health care as it pertains to women, and then looking at the inequities in access to day care, especially coming off the pandemic."
The march will kick off at noon on North Park Row. Participants will walk south on French Street to East Seventh Street, cross back over State Street and take Peach Street back into Perry Square.
2021: Women's March continues to motivate Erie activism
A space for everyone
King expects the largest crowd yet for an Erie Women's March.
"We’re expecting no less than 2,500 women from not just Erie but across northwestern Pennsylvania ... because Roe v. Wade was such a hot topic, but also all of those other issues are also so valuable to so many women," King said.
The rally will feature a number of speakers the event committee believes have been advocates for women's empowerment and equality, King said.
"We tried thinking outside the box this time and made sure we gave space to everyone, because we wanted this to be a rally where it was all-inclusive," King said.
Notable speakers include former Erie County Executive Kathy Dahlkemper; Nerissa Galt, District 6 Democratic candidate for the state House; and the rally's headliner, Blayre Holmes Davis, director of community relations for the Pittsburgh Steelers.
In 2021:Women's March organizes more than 650 marches nationwide for reproductive rights
A retired teacher, a Gannon University student and a female entrepreneur are also among those speaking.
"People don’t have to feel like they need to be a political well-known or have to have been doing this for a long time, it just means something to you," she said. "You’ve been affected in some way by the broad spectrum of issues that are on the table right now that we’ll be voting on in November, and we wanted that roster to be reflective of that."
Other activities planned
The event will feature several musical acts, a 13-year-old praise dancer and an all-female vendor marketplace. There will also be local food trucks that are all primarily female-owned, King said.
"There will be services as well, mental health services, all kinds of different things," King said. "It’ll be a day of information, empowerment, and if you’re not registered to vote, you can get that information, too. It’s really something we haven’t done at this magnitude before."
If you go ...
What: Erie's Women March and Rally
When: Saturday, Oct. 8, noon to 4 p.m.
Where: Perry Square, 601 State St.
Baylee DeMuth can be reached at 814-450-3425 or bdemuth@timesnews.com. Follow her on Twitter @BayleeDeMuth.
This article originally appeared on Erie Times-News: Erie Women's March and Rally to be held Saturday at Perry Square
