Erin Ledyard struggles with calling herself an activist, but that’s the role she said she’s taken on since hopping on a bus to Washington, D.C., a year ago for the Women’s March.
“To me, if I went to that march last year and I did nothing after that, what was the point of me going?” said Ledyard.
Ledyard, of Lake of the Four Seasons, and Julie Storbeck, of Valparaiso, have seats on the buses that are set to depart Northwest Indiana Saturday morning for Indianapolis, joining thousands of people at marches across the country in the second Women’s March.
Hundreds of thousands of people marched in the inaugural event on Jan. 21, 2017, in support of various issues, from women’s rights to healthcare to immigration. Events in Chicago and Washington attracted more people than anticipated, making it impossible for people to move along the planned routes.
This year’s theme is Power to the Polls, encouraging voter registration as the 2018 midterms approach, organizers said.
“In the end, what matters is taking our power to the polls. That is the focus, that we’re going to be getting women out to vote,” said Storbeck.
That’s what Indivisible NWI has focused on since the group formed a little over a year ago, said Joan Machuca, of Ogden Dunes.
“Indivisible NWI is all about getting out to vote, getting people registered to vote and holding members of Congress accountable,” said Machuca.
Machuca said she is going with a group from Northwest Indiana Saturday to participate in Chicago’s march.
“It’s so energizing,” Machuca said. “You just feel so rejuvenated because everyone around you feels like they can make a difference.”
Since last year’s marches, Machuca, Storbeck and Ledyard said that momentum hasn’t fizzled out — it’s grown.
“We all knew that there was something, but we couldn’t quite identify it,” Storbeck said about last year’s march. “We couldn’t quite grab a handle on it because it was bigger. It was still very amorphous.”
Ledyard said, “It was about saying, ‘We’re still here. Our voices matter.'”
As the months went by, the movement has matured and developed to encompass more voices, Storbeck said.
“It’s reaching into more corners of society,” Storbeck said. “But I think it’s doing it in a way that’s maybe not drawing quite as much as the sensationalized attention.”
Storbeck gets giddy when she thinks about all that’s happened in the last year.
“Oh my gosh, what hasn’t been going on?” said Storbeck.
Hoosier Women on the March, a group Storbeck has helped run since last year’s event, held discussions with U.S. Sen. Joe Donnelly, D-Ind., in April and State Sen. Ed Charbonneau, R-Valparaiso, the month before.
The group got involved with the #MeToo movement addressing sexual assault and campus rape, holding small events at people’s homes to create safe spaces for conversations on the issue, said Storbeck. They also revived the Northwest Indiana chapter for the National Organization for Women, she said.
Machuca said she’s particularly interested in helping with the lead crisis in East Chicago.
Everyone has different skill sets and passions, leading to collaborations and different projects among local groups, according to Storbeck.
“We’re figuring out where we all fit in,” said Storbeck.
Ledyard said she was involved with social justice a bit in college, but since going to Washington a year ago, she’s taken more action. She’s volunteered with Planned Parenthood and started RADical Book Club, reading about social issues and learning how to become more involved, Ledyard said.
Thinking of yourself as an activist can seem like a “really huge thing,” Ledyard said. But in the last year, she’s learned the can include a variety of activities, from postcards to canvassing to going out and talking to people in the community.
“I think we’ve all been marching ever since in our own ways,” Ledyard said.
Trains added for Chicago march
The South Shore Line will have more seats available Saturday on its trains for people going to and from the Women’s March in Chicago.
In the morning, a westbound train will run directly behind Train 502, due to arrive at Chicago’s Millennium Station at 9:11 a.m.
In the afternoon, an additional eastbound train will leave Millennium at 4:25 p.m. and Van Buren at 4:28 p.m. It will run non-stop to Hegewisch. It will then make all local stops until Michigan City. It will not go to Hudson Lake or South Bend. —Tim Zorn
