One year after thousands of people took to the streets of downtown Dayton to participate in a local offshoot of the Women’s March on Washington, Miami Valley activists will once again gather at Courthouse Square.
Joy Schwab, of the Dayton Women’s Rights Alliance, was expecting about 300 people to show up to last year’s Women’s March. Instead, 3,000 people descended upon downtown Dayton to protest the Trump administration, and show support for issues like reproductive rights and racial justice.
Schwab says she’s hoping for similar turnout this year, but the focus of the event has shifted slightly. With the 2018 midterm elections only months away, organizers are aiming to motivate marchers to get to the polls and elect more female candidates to office.
“It’s good when we make all the phone calls, and when we rally in the street, and we need to keep that up," said Schwab. "But we’re also beating our heads against the wall when those who are in office are responsive only to their big campaign donors and don’t really care what we have to say or what our problems are.”
At the event, Schwab says leaders will introduce candidates running for office including Theresa Gasper, a Beavercreek businesswoman and Democrat running for the Ohio’s 10th U.S. House District. That seat is currently occupied by Republican Mike Turner.
The march will be held from 2 to 3 p.m. tomorrow on Dayton’s Courthouse square.
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