Township Residents Join New Jersey, New York City Women’s Marches

Township resident Barbara ten Broeke at the New York City “Sister March.” Photo: Barbara ten Broeke.

Township residents joined hundreds of thousands of women and men in “Women’s Marches” in cities across the country and the world on Jan. 21.

The main march was held in Washington, D.C., and so-called sister marches were held elsewhere, including Trenton and New York City.

According to the event’s web site, marchers “stand together in solidarity with our partners and children for the protection of our rights, our safety, our health, and our families – recognizing that our vibrant and diverse communities are the strength of our country.”

Two township women who attended different marches, Barbara ten Broeke and Ardaman Singh, sent photos and some of their impressions of the day to the Franklin Reporter & Advocate.

Left to right, Barbara ten Broeke and her daughter, Yannie, at the NYC Sister March. Photo: Barbara ten Broeke.

Accompanied by her daughter, Yannie, ten Broeke said she arrived at her appointed spot at New York City’s Dag Hammarskjold Plaza on time. But the crowd that already assembled was apparently larger than anticipated.

“There were so many marchers, it took three hours to advance south on 2nd Ave. from 45th St. to 43rd St.,” she wrote in an email. “Energy level of mostly women marchers was high, although waiting to move was taxing.  We ducked out with others and walked among hundreds of off-route people to 43rd and Lexington and picked up the march on 42nd toward 5th Ave.”

“A wonderful percussion band picked up the pace, posters were extremely witty, waves of cheers began at one end of the march and rang to the other end. Your best friend was marching next to you even though you just met,” ten Broeke wrote. “The theme was, of course, women, including justice, inclusion, respect and clean environment for all.”

“No hint of discord – not even from the sidelines,” she wrote. “Police were very helpful.  Organizers did a fabulous job except more  people than expected showed up. Fifth Ave. was packed but moving and every side street from E. 44th to E.55th was filled with hundreds more participants wearing pussy hats and carrying posters. The march ended on 56th and 5th with the pink glass Trump Towers standing just a block away. Police reported more than 300,000 people participated.”

This was not ten Broeke’s first march, she said, having done “civil rights, anti-war, environment, poor people, women’s rights for many years,” but, she said, “this was the biggest!”

Ardaman Singh, third from left, and friends at the Trenton Sister March. Photo: Ardaman Singh.

Singh, who is also a member of the Board of Education, said she went to the Trenton march to show solidarity with women and people of other cultures.

“As a Sikh American I attended the parade to show my solidarity with women; with minorities; with people with disabilities; our LGBT community; our rich; our poor,” she said in a text. “We are all united.”

Singh texted that it was “awesome and tearful to walk alongside all these wonderful people of our country. The speakers, especially Elizabeth Myers, brought me to to tears. I vow to do my part as a woman who will continue to stand for all women.”

Singh, who is Sikh, said she went with friends from Kaur and Singh Academy of Bridgewater “as we want to make sure we the Sikhs stand with our minority sisters in the beginning of this great movement. As an immigrant and women of color we felt very empowered and invigorated by being a part of this march.”

A panoramic view of the NYC march. Photo: Barbara ten Broeke.

Franklin! Did you go to any of the marches? Send us some photos to editor@franklinreporter.com, along with your thoughts on the day, and we’ll add them to this story!

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