Great Inspiration from Women's March in Kings Beach

This piece was a letter to the editor of the Sierra Sun, the newspaper serving the Truckee, Tahoe City, Incline Village and Kings Beach Communities of North Lake Tahoe since 1869. The letter ran in the January 27th issue. Note that the population of Kings Beach is 3,000 and 800 people showed up to march in solidarity!!

Dear Editor, 

I attended the Women’s March in Kings Beach on January 21. I became overwhelmed with emotion as I looked into the crowd, nearly 800 people from my community—mostly women, but men, children and families, too. We gathered together for the same purpose, to promote peace, unity, solidarity, resistance, women’s rights, and human rights. To celebrate diversity. We marched together to enthusiastic and supportive honks and cheers from passing motorists. “Love, not Hate, make this county great,” we chanted. “When they go low, we go high,” we called out. “No hate, no fear, immigrants are welcome here,” we shouted. My friend, Kimberly, stopped at the local market to purchase a sandwich. The young man behind her in line exclaimed, “Please, let me buy you lunch, I’m so inspired by what you people are doing!” A stranger reaching out. One of my greatest heroes is my grandmother. Born in Puerto Rico in 1883, she became a revered curandera, a healer who uses the remedies of herbs and the laying on of hands. She treated everyone in her small village with respect and delivered babies with the midwife when the women had no other health care. I believe my Abuela Chepa, who lived to nearly 100-years-old, was with me in some capacity on this day of all days, proudly cheering me on.  

Photo by Lesley Chapman