Hundreds of people turned out on Saturday for the Women's March on Alaska in Anchorage. The theme of the event was power to the polls, which aimed to get more marginalized people to the ballot box.
The event was held on the first anniversary of President Trump's inauguration. Rashika Rakibullah, a lead organizer of the protest who works with the American Civil Liberties Union of Alaska, said the protest stood in solidarity with marginalized people, immigrants and members of the LGBTIQ community. "We're here to show our values are important and we're going to keep working towards them," said Rakibullah.
The organization also wants to get more people voting, starting with the Municipal elections in Anchorage on April 3. Rakibullah says they were trying to educate people on the new vote-by-mail system which will be rolled out for the election.
Rakibullah charted some successes saying "we fought back attacks on healthcare this year" and that the ACLU was focused on fighting against "Proposition 1", an initiative that would require people to use the bathrooms that match their gender at birth.
Rakibullah sounded hopeful for the future saying that people are engaged with the issues and participating in the political process. "I think people are really,really energized," she said.
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