On Saturday, September 30th, a diverse group of over 600 women, men and children from across Florida marched through the streets of Miami, participating in the Florida March for Black Women. The eclectic group were marching to show solidarity and highlight issues they believe have been neglected and ignored pertaining to America’s black community.
Those who participated traveled to Miami from other cities including Jacksonville, Sarasota, Tampa, and Orlando.
Among the marchers were representatives from the Miami Workers Center, The New Florida Majority, Soul Sisters Leadership Collective, Florida Immigrant Coalition, Power U Center for Social Change, and Women’s March – Florida Chapter.
Concurrent with Washington DC march
The Miami march ran concurrent with the national march held in Washington, D.C. where Black women marched at the center of the March for Racial Justice.
The local march began in Overtown at a former women’s detention center and ended in Wynwood.
Issues negatively affecting black female
Most of those who spoke emphasized the issues that are negatively affecting Black women and girls. These issues included the incidences of young girls going from schools to prison pipeline, the difference in salaries between men and women; the criminalization of Black women (including Black immigrant women), rape and sexualized violence against Black women and the healthcare challenges faced by black women.
The speakers, and their comments, included:
June Barrett, a domestic Worker and member of the Miami Workers Center, said “Throughout my 14 years as a domestic worker, I faced clients who abused me both verbally and sexually. Moreover, I face extremely low wages. Despite the fact that home health care is one of the fastest-growing jobs in the country, our wages are still some of the lowest with an average of $10 an hour.”
“Today, I’m marching because Black women deserve a safe workplace. I’m marching because we deserve livable wages. I’m marching because we deserve to live with dignity regardless of race, gender, sexuality, ability, and immigration status. I’m marching because I matter. ”
Isra Amin Ibrahim, Council Member of Students for Justice in Palestine at Florida International University
“We are all connected. Black women exist in every community… I am muslim and I am a black woman and I am fighting against Islamophobia and anti-blackness because they effect me all the time and they effect me the same.”
Jasmen Rogers, Gender Justice Organizer at Miami Workers Center
“We’re starting at Booker T Washington High School, a predominantly black high school right across from an [old] women’s detention center to highlight mass incarceration and the school to prison pipeline that goes on in our communities.”
“Our demands are about making sure Black women, girls and femmes are safe, stable, and that people are ready to acknowledge that the lives of Black women deserve to be protected.”
Chanice Lee, 15-year-old youth activist
“For centuries, Black women have been exploited, forgotten and denied civil rights, but the time to change that is now… I am not here to simply march, I am here because I am a 15-year-old black girl who wants her voice to be heard. I am here on behalf of all of the young black girls who have been silenced and told that their voices are not important.”
“The revolution is in the hands of the young and the sooner we accept and embrace that, the sooner we can create and shape a world that future generations of Black girls deserve to live in which should consist of happiness, prosperity and peace.”
For more on women’s marches follow the link: https://www.caribbeannationalweekly.com/caribbean-breaking-news-featured/women-marches-desired-impact/
