Meera Subramanian
  • Home
  • Books
  • Writing
  • Bio
  • Blog
  • Photos
  • Events
  • Speaking
  • Contact

to the Commons & beyond: Women’s March for America

January 22, 2017 By meerasub Leave a Comment

On Friday, Donald J. Trump was sworn into office as America’s 45th president. Websites were wiped clean of mentions of climate change and the country tumbled officially into the realm of #AlternativeFacts. For journalists, and citizens, the operative word going forward is “vigilance.”

On Saturday, upwards of 1.5 million people took to the streets around the country and world in solidarity with Americans who support human rights, equality, science, access to health care, and real facts (over alternative ones).

The Women’s March on Washington had grown into a national and international tidal wave of action. I was in Boston where the Women’s March for America was anticipating a crowd of about 80,000. On the T ride toward the Boston Commons, an ever-growing wave of women (and men) donning pink pussyhats boarded while more rode bikes across the Longfellow Bridge with protest signs lashed to their baskets, and  it began to seem like there might be more in attendance than expected. Many more. Many many more. As Boston Commons filled and cell phone service crashed, there were speeches by Mayor Marty Walsh, Senator Elizabeth Warren, and the Reverend Mariama White-Hammond.

By the time the crowd was to make its one-mile loop for the march, the only possible movement was a slow-mo shuffle. It took hours for everyone to make their way peacefully through the streets. They chanted “This is what democracy looks like!” and sang out Fiona Apple’s “We don’t want you tiny hands anywhere near my underpants!” I saw a little girl belting out “My body! My choice!” and a lone man with a severe face holding a poster: “Trump. Make America Great Again.” Passerbys ignored him.

By this morning, city officials estimated there were at least 125,000 people. [UPDATE: Make that 175,000.]

Inching through the masses, camera in hand, here’s a selection of photos I took during what felt like an historic day:

[envira-gallery id=”3898″]

Filed Under: News, photography Tagged With: Boston, protest, USA, women, Women's March for America

something’s happening here…

June 23, 2016 By meerasub Leave a Comment

maxresdefault

When a mass shooting of little six-year-olds in Newtown didn’t inspire gun control action, nor the 49 deaths at the massacre in Orlando, nor the thousands of other deaths that take place in America each year, I began to think that only a mass shooting in Congress could make this problem real to the elected officials who have continually blocked gun control measures. Horrid thought, I know, but that’s what crossed my mind when the Senate defeated all four bills (two from each side of the aisle) earlier this week, even though the blood in Orlando remained so fresh.

Then, yesterday, something happened. Something kind of wonderful. Democrats in the House of Representatives had a sit-in. Ole school – Gandhi – MLK, Jr. – style. “No bill! No break!” they chanted between speeches. When the CNN feed went dead, shaky cell phones brought the news out with Twitter’s Periscope live feed. (Here’s @ScottPeters.) #HoldTheFloor, #NoBillNoBreak, and #DemocraticSitIn trended.

I got excited. Proud that my representative, Bill Keating, was part of it. Wondered how long it’d last. Wondered what would come of it. I could have glued myself to the Internet to watch each moment. Instead, [Read more…]

Filed Under: News Tagged With: civil disobedience, gun control, hope, politics, protest

Join Meer’s Mailing List

for the very occasional bit of news.

Please enter a valid email address.
Subscribe

Thanks for subscribing! 

Something went wrong. Please check your entries and try again.

Categories

Tags

Alaska anthology A River Runs Again Art awards birds of prey books book tour Cambridge cape cod climate change conservation dissent Elemental India energy events Fulbright india InsideClimate News journalism kenya Knight Science Journalism middle east Nature New York City organic farming Orion peregrine falcon pesticides photography plastics politics pollution environment Princeton University radio readings religion reviews science Society of Environmental Journalists Texas travel USA vulture water

Archives by Month

Connect

  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • LinkedIn
  • Twitter

© 2023 Meera Subramanian | All Rights Reserved. | Mastodon | Links | Website design by Sumy Designs, LLC