Lily Alexandroff wasn’t old enough to vote in the presidential election, but she has found other ways to get involved.
The 17-year-old and her mother, Nancy Bauer, will join women from around the country for the Women’s March on Washington on Saturday, Jan. 21. Organizers expect hundreds of thousands to turn out.
“I’ve always been taught that it’s important to be involved,” Lily said. “Hopefully, we can make some change with peaceful protest and have our voices be heard.”
Plans for the march began almost immediately after the Nov. 8 election, when many women were shocked by the prospect of President-elect Donald Trump.
The comments made by Trump in 2005 while taping an episode of the Access Hollywood TV show — disclosed in leaked footage — outraged many voters.
Controversial comments like this, made before and during the election, and his stance on women’s reproductive rights are some of the reasons so many women fear his potential policies.
Lily’s mother suggested they attend the protest. She wants to show her daughter the importance of activism.
“We can’t just sit here and do nothing,” Bauer said. “I just know that she’ll get a lot out of the experience.”
Bauer and her daughter are two of the thousands of women who discovered the event through Facebook.
Chicagoan Mrinalini Chakraborty said she created the march’s Illinois Facebook page the day after the election. The Illinois page has more than 3,000 users listed as “going.” The national page has 204,000 RSVPs.
Other Illinois women going to Washington aren’t there for the protests. They’re celebrating.
Tiffany Boguslawski, a freshman member of the Loyola University College Republicans, said she got her trip to the inauguration as an early birthday present from her parents. She’s going with her mother, Bo. It’s Tiffany’s first visit to Washington.
“I’m just so excited, I can’t even explain it,” Boguslawski said. “This is the best birthday present ever.”
The college student said she expects a mixture of emotions from the crowd in Washington. She knows there will be many protests.
“This is a big moment for [Trump] and many other Americans,” Boguslawski said. “I hope they can voice their opinions, but do it in a respectful way.”
That’s the idea, Chakraborty said.
“We want to make sure this is a safe, secure and peaceful march,” she said. “Out of all the hopelessness and desperation that we all felt from the election came hope that there is something we can do.”
A lot of mothers plan to bring their daughters, she added.
“It’s a common theme,” Chakraborty said. “They are showing them how democracy works.”
She said there are nearly 50 buses, sourced through Rallybus, taking Illinois protesters to D.C. on Inauguration Day. That’s how the mother-daughter duo, Lily and Bauer, will get to the protest.
Buses will leave on Jan. 20 and drive through the night. The trip, more than 700 miles, could take up to 10 hours.
“Hopefully, this is something I’ll tell my kids about in the future,” Lily said. “They’ll learn about it, and I’ll be able to tell them that I was there.”
Although it’s known as the “Women’s March,” many activists like Chakraborty say anyone is welcome to join.
Lauren Eve Pomerantz, who lives in Wrigleyville, agrees.
She said this will be her second march in Washington. She attended one in 1989, organized by the National Organization for Women to support Roe v. Wade, the Supreme Court case legalizing abortion.
“I see that this one has had a lot more diversity in support,” Pomerantz said. “I hope that a lot of men will show up, too, because the patriarchal power structure hurts them too. I hate to say it, but I think politicians would listen more if men are involved.”
March organizers wanted to use the Lincoln Memorial, but it won’t be available. The National Park Service long ago had filed a blanket permit request for that area and many others, just in case the Presidential Inaugural Committee wanted to use the space.
Some frustrated march supporters took to social media. Chakraborty said the Lincoln Memorial had been sought for its “iconic nature,” before any official planning took place. The denial led some to believe the event wouldn’t occur at all.
Plans now call for the march to begin near the Capitol. Updates will be communicated through the official Facebook and Twitter pages.
Stephanie Holderfield, of Champaign, said she does not understand why women want to protest but supports their right to do so.
Holderfield, Trump’s former state director, said getting to see the inauguration in person has been her goal since she began working for the campaign.
“I want to see the beginning of the presidency that I participated in,” she said. “Just getting to share this with so many other supporters and to celebrate and enjoy the effort that was put into this campaign, it will be very memorable. Every event that I have been to for Trump has been electric.”
