Marches, rallies launch a year in which women hold the key to cultural shift

Luisa Blue used her powerful voice and message to excite those at the Las Vegas women's rallly.

ON OUR way to the Women's Rally in Las Vegas we asked our Lyft driver if he was registered.

"I was a precinct captain," answered Grover, our driver. "In 2016 I was registering up to 60 people a day."

Grover was a black man, about 50 years old, but he was up with current events. "We're turning this state (Nevada) blue." He proceeded to lecture us about all that was wrong with this country, from the White House occupant on down to the white supremacists. 

Donald Trump has inspired ordinary people like Grover to get off their seat, stop complaining and start organizing and doing something to turn this country around.

That was the theme heard around the country last weekend as people marked the one-year anniversary of the Women's March and also, the end of the first year of the Donald Trump administration.

SEIU national executive vice president Luisa Blue, a Filipina Americans, got the Las Vegas crowd riled up citing what the newly revitalized women's movement has in common with labor unions: If you believe in affordable housing, then you have something in common with us, she said. If you believe in a living wage, then you have something in common with us. And she went on, from education, health care, a workplace free from sexual harassment, and so on.

San Francisco Jane Kim, who presides in a largely Asian/American district in her city, spoke in Las Vegas, saying that the majority of mayoral candidates are women, and if a woman is elected mayor of San Francisco, it would become the largest U.S. city with a woman mayor.

Speaker after speaker encouraged the audience to advance to the next step in the women's movement, from marching to running for office, from signing petitions to sighing up voters, to move from the streets to the voting booth.

The Las Vegas rally closed out a weekend of marches and rallies which drew millions of people across the country, from New York to Los Angeles. Over 200,000 marched in New York City, raising their middle finger when they passed the Trump Tower. In Los Angeles where 500,000 marched, chanting, "This is what democracy looks like."

National organizers decided to hold the national event In Las Vegas because Nevada is seen as a state turning from Republican to Democrat with a Republican governors and a U.S. Senate seat seen as vulnerable this year. It is also a state that elected its country's first Latina U.S. Senator, Catherine Cortez, who won her seat in 3026 in the same election that Hillary attracted more votes than Trump.

With the momentum built up by the womens' resistance and the work of people like our Lyft driver, Las Vegas indicates that the odds are in favor that Nevada will turn blue this year.

This story is developing. Check back later for updates.

SCREEN CAPTURE / ABC

Actress Constance Wu,  center, with Natalie Portman, right and Eva Longorio at the Los Angeles march.

In Los Angeles, actress Constance Wu (Fresh Off the Boat) recounted an incident when she was called "bitch."

"I want to tell you about the first time I refused a man's sexual advances," said Wu at the women's march in L.A. "He called me a bitch. He said he didn't even really want me. He said, 'don't flatter yourself, you're not that hot.' He said, 'who do you think you are?'

"You see, my rejection of him made him so uncomfortable that he had to retaliate with insults," she continued. "He had to protect his ego by demeaning me."
Wu's comeback is classic: 

"I would just like to say to the abusers who have called me a bitch, who have said, 'who do you think you are?': I am Constance Wu," she said to cheers. "And as for the 'bitch' part, if you didn't try to do bitch-ass things to us, then we wouldn't have to be bitches back to you. So stop and listen."

Sen. Kamala Harris, D-Calif., like other U.S. senators remained in Washington to work on getting a budget that is acceptable enough to end the government shutdown. However, she did issue a statement of support for her supporters in her home state:

"Whether or not you were able to participate in the march last year or this year, this is a moment in time that is demanding all of us to dig deep and take ownership of the future. Be brave and stand with us in fighting for the people. 

"We are strong when we raise our voices together and that is precisely what we did one year ago — and what we will continue to do in the difficult weeks, months, and years ahead. 

"When people of all ages, colors, religions, and backgrounds come together, unified in our collective struggle for justice, there is nothing we cannot accomplish. Stay involved!"_______________________________________________________________________