New Orleans, LA – On Saturday, March 8, about 70 people gathered in Lafayette Square in downtown New Orleans in honor of this year’s International Women’s Day.

The crowd rallied around a banner demanding “Protect women’s and trans rights! From Palestine to Mexico, end all family separations!” Several speakers from grassroots movements discussed the urgency of gender liberation and the need to carry on the legacy of resistance from the revolutionary women of the past.

Molly Frayle, a transgender activist with the Queer and Trans Community Action Project, spoke about how the holiday was organized first by working-class socialist women in the United States and Germany, and historically celebrated striking workers who sparked the February Revolution in Russia in 1917.

“They got into the streets, and they started marching,” Frayle said. “It was that very day the Russian revolution started. A whole country had a revolution because women stood up! They won the right to vote, abortion on demand, the right to divorce without their husbands permission! All that to say when we fight, we win!”

After more speeches, the crowd took to the streets. Chants of “Not the church, not the state, women will decide our fate!” and “International Women's Day, time to make the bosses pay!” filled the busy downtown thoroughfare. Protesters carried signs saying “My body, my choice!” and “Stop the deportations now!” as they marched to the Hyatt Regency, where ICE offices are located in New Orleans.

Once there, organizers spoke about the increasing terror and repression that Black, brown and immigrant communities face under the Trump administration. But they also highlighted the power of fighting back in the spirit of revolutionary women.

“Again and again, the ruling class underestimates the power of women's militancy. Women have led the labor movement, striking for real gains. Mothers of victims of police crimes have been fighting for justice – the attacks that we face are meant to intimidate, confuse us, disorganize and demoralize us. Do you know what they do instead? They light a fire in us!” said Antonia Mar, an organizer with the Freedom Road Socialist organization.

With more chants, the protesters took the streets back to Lafayette Square. Once there, organizers emphasized that this action was only the beginning and that these organizations are committed to uniting and struggling against Trump and his reactionary administration every step of the way.

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