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Boone Sister’s March Planned for January 20

Participants gathered in front of the Jones House during last year’s Boone Sister’s March.

by Luke Weir

Local activists and concerned citizens alike will assemble Saturday afternoon for a Sister’s March through downtown Boone to display solidarity for the national Women’s March in Las Vegas, starting at the Watauga County Public Library at 3:00 p.m. January 20.

The following day, a Women’s March in Las Vegas will mark the 1-year anniversary of the 2017 Women’s March in Washington, D.C., which had roughly 500,000 participants at the United States capital and up to 5 million marchers affiliated in worldwide sister’s marches, according to official estimates.

This year’s Women’s March, titled “Power to the Polls,” is focused on launching a national voter registration tour to combat voter suppression, according to the official website. Like last year, there are sister’s marches planned across the world in solidarity with “Power to the Polls,” including in Boone.

Paula Finck, grandmother of six, helped organize the sister’s marches in Boone both this year and last.

“Cookies are fine for grandmothers to make, but some of us grandmothers have to make a stand, too,” Finck said.

The peaceful, nonviolent and silent sister’s march will gather at the Watauga County Public Library at 3 p.m. Saturday and proceed to King Street past the Mast General Store, up the stairs to the lawn of the Jones House on 604 W. King Street.

“This is a small act, it doesn’t have to be a big one, but it’s something,” Finck said. “The election system is not working for the people, democracy is not a spectator sport.”

Finck encourages participants from all walks of life to bring their own signs and take a stand for electoral issues such as campaign finance reform, gerrymandering and equal voting rights, in solidarity with the Women’s March in Las Vegas this weekend.

Among the issues expressed Saturday, Finck will wield a sign supporting campaign finance reform.

“Things need fixing and we need to be listening to each other to know how to fix them,” Finck said. “We had 100 people last year and I hope there will be more this year.”

For more information about the upcoming Women’s March, visit Powertothepolls.com.

Some played music while others displayed signs at the Sister’s March last year.

 

An overview of last year’s march, which is said to have attracted just over 100 people