Published: Aug. 6, 2021
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On July 19, 2021, one hundred women from around the country engaged in civil disobedience to mark the anniversary of the historic Women’s Rights Convention at Seneca Falls. One of them was Jasmine Krotkov of Montana Gathering of Friends. This action was part of a larger rally organized by the Poor People's Campaign outside the U.S. Supreme Court.
Leaving Montana’s smoky skies to exchange for the hazy, humid skies of summer in the DC swamp.
When our flight finally lifted above the smoky haze of Montana summer, and broke through the cloud ceiling to blue sky, we were glad we hadn’t “given up five minutes before the miracle.” It felt miraculous that this last-minute trip to Washington DC, to represent Montana in a women’s march and civil disobedience came together.
The call to action came on a Thursday, and, after frantically dismantling the plans we already had for the week of 19th of July, we agreed to volunteer to represent Montana and we left three days later on Sunday at 6:40 am sharp. From our respective towns, Beth and I drove to Helena that early morning so we could fly together. It is important to hold hands when embarking on a journey into the unknown. One of the hardest parts for me was relying on the Poor People's Campaign, a group whose values I share, and whose work I admire - but whom I had never seen in action - to keep me safe.
Now that I know them better, I don’t have to think about miracles. I know these dedicated, experienced and mission-driven people are completely reliable. This is no rabble of angry insurrectionists. The women I met and marched with were solidly grounded in the purpose of moral revival, and the organizers were meticulous.
When we arrived in DC we were met by a driver. At the hotel we had dinner with everyone, and then heard about the logistics for the next day. We were led to the right buses to take, and then met at the destination. It was seamless despite the huge amount of details that had to be nailed down for so many participants. And the food provided was great!
Before the march we gathered in a church, where we practiced our Theomusicology (singing!) and got our sashes, printed with the demands, again, of the action:
1. An end to the filibuster, not just to defend voting rights, but to reconstruct our democracy
2. Pass ALL of the provisions of the For The People Act - the way that John Lewis envisioned.
3. Restore the 1965 Voting Rights Act
4. Raise the minimum wage to $15
Both Beth and I wore our suffragette colors of yellow and white, and the white sashes finished out our homage to Montana’s own Jeannette Rankin. She was a founding member of the Committee on Woman Suffrage and as our first Congresswoman, famously said “I can not vote for war.” A century later we are still having to remind our government that militarism and poverty are immoral.
Jeannette Rankin stood alone in Congress when she voted against war. We are not standing alone anymore. There were a hundred women walking in Rankin’s footsteps, chanting “We are a new, unsettling force,” standing our ground, being heard and building momentum for this national moral revival. I stood next to an 80-year-old woman who had marched in 1968, and next to the girls and young women who were ready to stand up to the injustices of “politics as usual.” We did something to save the soul and body of the nation with our nonviolent direct action in DC.
It was very satisfying.
~ Jasmine
from Lucretia Humphrey, Montana Gathering of Friends (7/31/2021)