ASHEVILLE, N.C. (828newsNOW) — International Women’s Day is this weekend. Asheville will be joining women around the world in celebration with a demonstration at Pack Square Park.
The International Women’s Day demonstration will begin at 11 a.m., Saturday, March 8 at Pack Square Park in downtown Asheville.
The event, organized in conjunction with national movement Women’s March, will feature several speakers from the community, informational tables, a sign-making station and a performance from community marching band Brass Your Heart, which will precede the demonstration at 10:30 a.m.
Informational tables at the event will be headed by Democratic Socialists of America, Tranzmission, Asheville Food & Beverage United, Organize The South and Indivisible Asheville WNC, who will be tabling with voter information and registration.
Speakers at the demonstration are of all ages and walks of life.
“I want to give the perspective of someone who is of college age. I am also a queer person, myself,” said demonstration co-organizer Alexis Allen, a criminal justice major at Mars Hill University. “I was recently accepted into a Master’s program specializing in victimology with a concentration in human trafficking. The first thing that comes to mind when I think about my career and my fashion and things of that nature, it has a lot to do with reproductive freedom and the rights for healthcare.”
Allen will be speaking about the connection between the recovery of human trafficking victims and their access to reproductive healthcare during the demonstration.
“We could get into the intersectionality of how it disproportionately affects women of color and genderqueer people as well, which is some points that I will also be trying to make,” Allen said. “The final details of what I’m gonna say, I’m still debating on, just because I want to get perspective and opinion from other demographics and people that I know beyond just myself as a woman. I want to ask genderqueer people more as well as people of color.”
The inclusivity Allen is seeking to include in her remarks reflects the spirit of the demonstration at large. Anyone is welcome at the event, said co-organizer Sierra Night Tide.
“From my perspective, I would definitely like them to know that we see you. We want to hear you. Especially from people who have physical disabilities. A lot of times, when you have physical disability, going out to anything like this can be a little bit scary. I’m physically disabled, and so that was a really important aspect for me,” Night Tide shared. “I want to let people know, regardless of what their ability is, everyone is welcome. We want to hear your voices, we want to see you there, we want you to be heard.”
While the demonstration is still taking shape – there may or may not be a march, for instance. If there is, it will likely progress from Pack Square to Pritchard Park a few blocks away – that message is what the two women want to make crystal clear.
“Everyone deserves that right,” Night Tide declared. “To be heard, to be seen, to be counted, to have their equal rights.”
For more information about the International Women’s Day demonstration or Women’s March, visit action.womensmarch.com.