As people across the globe recognized International Women’s Day on March 8, dozens of activists took to Northwest D.C.’s Meridian Hill Park — also known as Malcolm X Park by many in the area — to commemorate the holiday, while simultaneously combating attacks on immigrants, reproductive rights, and other freedoms.
“We are not just here to fight, we are here to celebrate,” said Nadia Salazar, one of the speakers at the Sunday march and a community organizer. “Let’s celebrate how well we are fighting, how well we are showing up, how well we are resisting.”
For Salazar, who migrated to the U.S. from Bolivia with parents at the age of 10, Sunday’s march was very personal. As she navigates the world as an immigrant and parent, she spoke about the importance of standing up for immigrant mothers, particularly against U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).
“They are not ashamed to rip mothers from their children,” Salazar said. “We are here to remind them that these are our streets, our community. That we nurture and care for this place.”
Organized by several Washington, D.C. coalitions, such as DC Against Trump and Movimiento Migrante DC, speakers exhorted the crowd before protesters took to the streets chanting pointed messages, such as: “Women rule, cops drool” and “Abortion and trans rights, same struggle same fight.”
Daniella Anello, CEO of DC Bilingual Public Charter School, honored women not able to publicly rally and speak due to the realities of trying to survive conditions imposed on them.
Having moved to the U.S. when she was 4 years old, Anello said watching the current, violent ICE arrests often gives her flashbacks. Further, as a community leader, Anello can attest to the rising tensions between ICE and people around the country, affecting her students.
“As an educator and a school leader, I also see the impact of the uncertainty that children face. I see the worry that they carry, I see the fear when their families are disrupted. These moments do not just affect one person, they ripple through entire families,” Anello said. “Small acts of vigilance and kindness can make a huge difference in the lives of struggling families.”
Terra Martin, mother of Dalaneo Martin, a 17-year-old who was shot and killed by a U.S. Park Police Officer two years ago, shared her grief and message at the march.
“This International Women’s Day, we celebrate the strength and power of women everywhere, but today must also be a day where we speak the truth,” Martin said. “Across the country, women, especially Black and brown mothers, are fighting battles most people never see. We are fighting systems that judge us by our culture instead of our love.”
She pointed out that the very system meant to protect community members can be the one taking their lives, as in the case with her teenage son.
On March 18, 2023, Martin’s son was asleep in his car when police surrounded him and took his life in just three minutes. Nearly three years later, she took to the march to encourage all women to speak out against police violence, emphasizing that women are at the center of fighting for justice.
“My son should still be here,” she said. “No mother should ever have to bury her son because of police violence.”
The mother and freedom fighter also highlighted the overall power of women in justice work.
“Women are not just a part of a movement,” Martin said, “we are the movement.”