Women’s march in Rockford hosts diverse group of speakers but smaller crowd
By Kristen Zambo
Staff writer
Posted Jan 19, 2019 at 5:25 PMUpdated Jan 19, 2019 at 5:28 PM
ROCKFORD — Subzero wind chills and the hefty snowfall in the Rockford region resulted in a fraction of the turnout for Saturday’s Women’s March Rockford compared with the attendees the event has drawn during the two previous years, organizers said.
Chanting “women’s rights are human rights,” fewer than 300 people braved frigid temperatures to attend the noon march after a winter storm swept through the region Friday and into Saturday morning. An estimated 1,500 people attended last year’s Rockford march, up slightly from the more than 1,000 people who attended the inaugural march in 2017.
Monitors with the National Weather Service reported that 6.5 to 7.6 inches of snow fell on different portions of Rockford by 7 a.m. Saturday. Gusty winds throughout the day and plummeting temperatures created hazardous weather conditions, according to the weather service. Saturday’s high in Rockford was forecast for 16 degrees, but with the wind chill, it is felt like minus -9 degrees.
Organizers initially thought Rockford’s march would attract a larger crowd because Chicago’s march was canceled because of budget restrictions. That came on the heels of backlash against the national Women’s March organization amid allegations of anti-Semitism. During an event last year in Chicago, Nation of Islam leader Louis Farrakhan made comments about “powerful Jews” being his enemies and four of the national Women’s March organization’s co-chairs have ties to Farrakhan.
Organizers of the Rockford march took steps to distance themselves from the national organization and “made it clear we were including everybody,” said Ronit Golan, past president of the Jewish Federation of Greater Rockford. “I think we have to be welcoming to those diverse populations and I think this is a great start.”
With a little more than 270 people in attendance, the crowd still largely was comprised of white faces.
“To me it’s not a brown or black issue. It’s Woman’s Day,” said Leslie West, 42, of Rockford, who is black. “It’s important for everybody to come out. We have to exercise our voices.”
