Annual Coachella Valley Women’s March

Here at home, the Coachella Valley Women’s March hosted their annual Women’s March in the City of Coachella. This organization rallied together along with several members of the Coachella Valley, in support of one thing, women’s rights. With the overturn of Roe v. Wade, this year’s theme was "Bigger than Roe." "It’s a really important time for us all to come together and acknowledge the fact that we do not want to step back in time. We want to stay where we are and progress, we want to keep progressing." says Esther Sanchez, a writer and photographer for the Coachella Valley Weekly. The annual event started 3 years ago. "On this very day, there’s marches going out anywhere from California, all the way to New York. So I am happy to announce that you know, we have one here in the Coachella Valley as well." says Claudia Armenta, the organizer for the Coachella Valley Women’s March. People from every generation united today, with the goal to spread information onto the younger generation, in hope to keep the movement moving forward. "Just to unite a lot of different organizations and women and things that we have here in the community, to just display them and let everyone know what’s available here in the Coachella Valley." guest speaker, Alexia Hernandez says. With an open-mic for the majority of the rally, young speakers shared their experiences and stories, in hope for others to better understand the injustices that they’ve faced. "That’s really why, you know, I am here today is to make sure that we shed light, we have a lot of youth. We have a lot of youth and we wanted to encourage them to come out because they are the future. They are the future leaders. They are the future advocates." Armenta states. One speaker from the rally says this event has become a safe-space for herself as well as her peers. "Here in the Coachella Valley, we have a lot of Latin-x people… and in our culture, we really don’t get to speak up about a lot of things just because of that phrase, that harmful phrase that comes with it. So to be able to unite here and speak up about it. It really does help like knowing that your voice is heard." Hernandez states. For more information on the march or how to reach the organization, you can email them at the Cvwomensmarch@gmail.com.