A large crowd marches down Washington Street during the 2019 Women’s March in Marquette, and area participants get ready to rally again Saturday in the Marquette Commons lot to voice their opinions in the fourth Women’s March. The march will be followed by a post-reception from 2 to 5 p.m. at the Ore Dock Brewing Co. (Journal file photo)

MARQUETTE — With this year’s theme of rise up, women, men and children will rally together for the fourth annual Marquette Women’s March to voice their First Amendment right and rally together at noon Saturday at Marquette Commons lot.

The march will follow the meet-and-greet gathering at 1 p.m. where participants will walk across Third Street to Main Street, then cross over to Front Street to Washington to Fourth and then return to the Marquette Commons lot. The Northern Michigan University Public Relations Student Society of America chapter will then host the second annual Women’s March Post Reception from 2 to 5 p.m. at the Ore Dock Brewing Co.

NMU female professors and the Executive Director of the Women’s Center will give speeches. Other organizations that will be present include League of Women Voters, Planned Parenthood and NMU’s SAG.

“It’s all momentum because the first year was about hope and maybe a little restlessness like, ‘Okay, here we are. What can we do going forward to make this better for all people, all citizens of the country,'” planning committee member Jeanne Sekely said. “With time, this loosely-knit group — some in Washington, some across the country — have really knit together more to make a more powerful movement with common beliefs that freedom is for everyone without exception.”

The first march that came together in Washington D.C. was such a massive movement that there wasn’t enough space on the buses to accommodate the number of participants, Sekely said, explaining that the idea of these “sister marches” came about in 2017. Through these marches, hundreds of women across the nation have run for political office especially with 2018’s slogan “Power to the Polls,” Sekely said. This year’s march aims at continuing to spread that enthusiasm and community democracy, she added.

“It’s still rise up for women pulling together, working together and claiming power in our society,” Sekely said. “It’s important because it shows the power of finding common ground, listening to each other and banding together. We’ve learned that silence and status quo is no longer good enough. Silence will not protect us, we have to be visible. We have to stand up, state our goals and purposes and make a plan.”

Over a month of planning has went into making this year’s march another success, Sekely noted. With 30 to 40 volunteers, the group not only showcases powerful women but “multigenerational” women and it makes it for a diverse gathering, she added.

“(This march) shows all the things one can do,” she said. “It empowers… and it takes away the feeling of being alone. This group can do anything and it teaches power and the importance of democracy.”

For more information on the march or to donate to the event’s GoFundMe account, visit the Womens’ March UP – Marquette Facebook page.

Jackie Jahfetson can be reached at 906-228-2500, ext. 248.