Jacksonville celebrates International Women’s Day
Jacksonville, FL – This year’s International Women’s Day was celebrated March 8 by a crowd of nearly 100 people on a day to honor revolutionary and working women, filled with speakers, performances, crafts and good food. Members of the Jacksonville community joined together to remember the struggle of women who have come and fought before us, and to stand with the women continuing that struggle now.
The jam-packed program featured speakers representing a coalition of organizations that emphasized the vital role of women in every movement for change. There were poetry readings, a musical performance, and a Plena performance from members of the Jacksonville Immigrant Rights Alliance, a Puerto Rican dance and music style historically used as a form of resistance.
The crowd was reminded to stand with the women of Palestine as they resist, in all forms, the occupation of their land.
“Today we recognize and honor Palestinian women for their resilience and the integral part they play in the resistance. We recognize the key role they played historically and still do to this day,” said a member of the Jacksonville Palestine Solidarity Network.
Speaking on incarceration and its effects on Black revolutionary movement, a member of the Jacksonville Community Action Committee noted, “What many do not know is that women leaders of these movements, who were not only integral, but also pivotal to the successes of these movements, were political prisoners as well.”
As the event closed out, attendees chanted, “El pueblo unido jamás será vencido,” along with a recitation of the Assata Shakur chant. While we honor and remember all revolutionary leaders and political prisoners, this International Women’s Day we hold close to us the women who have built movements for change and those continuing that fight, for women hold up half the sky!