Women’s March- Rhode Island Chapter Meeting April 2, 2017
Providence Public Library, Empire Street, Auditorium
Present: Gail (Lead) Brenda (scribe), Darrell, Donna James, Katherine, Deb, Helen
Last week: Saturday, March 25 the RISE UP RALLY took place at the Roger Williams National Park in
Providence. There were many speakers all were amazing and had great information on their
organizations or causes. The turnout was good and it was a peaceful, organized rally. Park security did a
nice job walking around and making sure things remained peaceful. Shanna did an amazing job as usual,
keeping the flow and timing of speakers and entertainment going. In all it was a success. Some
suggestions were made to keep in mind for our next event, the layout of the park was quite large and
therefore the Food Trucks and organizations’ information tables were quite far from where the actual
rally was taking place. It was suggested that we keep things a little tighter for our next event as some
people didn’t realize there were organizations there handing out information. It was also mentioned
that the” I Can’t Keep Quiet” performance should have been saved for the very end of the event as the
finale to close the show. Last, may be because it was cold, but some thought there were too many
speakers even though they were all amazing, it was a bit long.
Wednesday, March 29 some attended the State House hearing on Reproductive Rights and support of
Planned Parenthood. Gail & Darrell McHugh and Lisa Peterson were some of those who testified in front
of the House Committee well into the evening with the last testimony given by our own Lisa Peterson at
midnight. Yes, that’s dedication to the cause!!!
Huddles that met last week discussed individual objectives, what their goals were and how they would
achieve them. In South Kingstown they worked with the local authorities and government to pass a
policy in that town stating that the local police did not have to follow the I.C.E. rules regarding
immigration. This policy means that they do not have to assist in the roundup of immigrants within their
community.
Some members of the core RI March group have been reaching out to a Westerly Huddle that has been
formed to try to assist them in their organization and plans of action.
Huddle PVD (Providence) met before the day of the rally and created signs to use on that day. They
decided that each huddle participant would participate in facilitating the huddle meeting so everyone
had a turn as the meeting lead. They also created Post Cards to advocate for Sick time leave that were
mailed to our State Reps and Senators.
The next Providence Huddle will be held Thursday, April 13 at the Wanskuck Library, 233 Visi St. in
Providence, 02904. The meeting starts @ 6pm for general discussion but 6:30pm is the official start time
for those who may not be able to get there by 6pm. It will run until 7:45pm
Bristol Huddle met last on March 21. Members from the Barrington group from Indivisible spoke to the
group about their mission and how that organization operated. Individual objectives were discussed and
chosen for participants to further research, plan actions. We also began work on Action # 5 from
National and chose our reading materials from their list which is available on the National website
www.womensmarch.com Materials will be discussed at the next meeting. It was decided that members
would begin participation within our local communities by attending weekly town hall meetings, as well
as local school committee meetings to stay tuned in on what is happening within our community.
Participants also signed up with Save the Bay for the Colt State Park Cleanup. There are still openings
available if anyone is interested. The cleanup is Sunday, April 8 from 10am – 12pm. You can access
signup information and the location in the park where everyone will meet along with all of the
information on the cleanup at http://volunteer.savebay.org/need/detail/?need_id=240743 Next Bristol
Huddle meeting TBD.
Artist Huddle is focusing on the March for Science and are trying to get something together as far as a
possible float for the rally/march. The March for Science Rally will take place on Saturday, April 22 from
1-4pm on the State House lawn. For more information visit their Facebook page
https://m.facebook.com/MarchforScienceRI/
Amped Voices has been working with many other groups to make their voices heard through
amplification with megaphones and other equipment.
Huddles….are your meetings wheelchair/disability accessible??? This subject has been brought up. We
should be aware of those who may want to attend a huddle meeting but may need this accessibility.
Meeting places have been a challenge for many of us but this should always be a consideration moving
forward as we are scheduling our meetings so that all who wish to attend may do so.
For those who were not able to attend the Town Hall Forum with US Senators, Jack Reed and Sheldon
Whitehouse and US Representatives Jim Langevin and David Cicilline you can view taped discussions on
www.rifuture.org
Black Lives Matter has reached out to RI Chapter members for possible collaboration on an immigration
protest at the airport. Information is being gathered and will be shared at a future Chapter meeting.
There are now 150 members of the Rapid Response Group. The rapid notification for actions is being
tweaked for efficiency in response time.
Informative websites for anyone who may be interested in running for office or how to participate
effectively in your government.
www.emergeamerica.org Helps women interested in running for office through training. Click on your
state for information in this area.
Common Cause RI (commoncauseri.org) Register for a Demystifying Democracy Series teaching you how
to effectively participate in your local government.
Past Event Videos available on their website on Making Your Point in 3 minutes or less when testifying at
the General Assembly.