Bay Area marches planned for inauguration weekend

On Friday and Saturday, thousands of people across the North Bay are expected to take part in demonstrations being organized in conjunction with the inauguration of President-elect Donald Trump, most of which are planned to stand against the platform he is expected to bring to the White House.

The largest, the Sonoma County Women’s March, is one of more than 600 women’s marches being coordinated around the world. They will promote a liberal agenda put forth by organizers of the main march: the Women’s March on Washington, which itself will likely draw tens of thousands, including a number of participants from Sonoma County.

The organization’s website says more than 1.3 million people have signed up to take part, marching on every continent except Antarctica.

At least five marches are planned for the North Coast: in Napa, Fort Bragg, Sonoma, Ukiah and Santa Rosa.

Anne McGivern, one of the original organizers of the Santa Rosa march, made it clear the march is “not a protest,” but rather “a very pro-social-justice rally.”

“Cleary we’re liberal and we’re social justice advocates, but this is not a protest,” she said. “It’s a very strong message that says we must come together, to stand together, with loud voices and protect our rights.”

The march will begin at City Hall, then head through downtown before winding up back at City Hall. The majority of Saturday’s 0.7-mile route will be on sidewalks, but First Street between Santa Rosa Avenue and D Street will be closed between 9 a.m. and 3 p.m., with people beginning to gather at 11 a.m., speakers at noon and the march to follow.

Among the speakers lined up for Saturday’s event is Rep. Jared Huffman, D-San Rafael, who announced earlier this month on social media that he planned to skip the inauguration.

When he found out about the Santa Rosa march, he decided he’d do that instead.

Other speakers planned for the Santa Rosa march include Lynn Woolsey, former congresswoman; Julie Combs, Santa Rosa City Council member; and Ann Gray Byrd, president of the Santa Rosa-Sonoma County NAACP.

Edelweiss “Eddie” Geary, chairwoman for the Sonoma County Republican Party, will not be attending Saturday’s march. Instead, she joked, she’ll “be recovering” from the inaugural ball her group is hosting Friday night, which is expected to draw about 150.

“I didn’t know that women were an oppressed group in this country,” Geary said of the marches. “I’m wondering if we need to get bolt cutters to get the chains off them all.”

For more information, and to see where other demonstrations are planned, find this story at pressdemocrat.com.

You can reach Staff Writer Christi Warren at 707-521-5205 or christi.warren@pressdemocrat.com. On Twitter @SeaWarren.