Santa Ana, CA – On March 8, over 80 people gathered at Santa Ana’s Memorial Park to rally for International Women’s Day. The attendees raised flags and signs in support of LGBTQ rights, Palestinian liberation, and reproductive rights.

The crowd erupted in chants of “When women’s rights are under attack what do we do? Stand up! Fight back!” and “Mujeres unidas jamas seran vencidas!” as emcee and Community Service Organization Orange County (CSO OC) member, Rain Mendoza, kicked off the rally.

Mendoza opened the event by saying, “It is important for us to continue commemorating this day as we continue to fight for our rights and for our lives. That is why you will always find us, working-class women and queer people, in the heart of the struggle.”

The stage was lined with signs called for supporting the women of Gaza, stopping the deportation of mothers, and protecting trans rights. Erika Armenta, wife of Noe Rodriguez, who was killed by the Santa Ana Police Department on December 1, 2024 spoke about his murder. Armenta stated, “Since his life was taken, I have to act as a mother and father to my daughters. They will never see their father again because the Santa Ana police chose violence instead of de-escalation.”

Armenta continued, “When you look at the families fighting for justice across the country, you will see wives, daughters, mothers, sisters. We are left to pick up the pieces of police killings. We are left to balance being mothers and fighters for justice.”

Armenta also raised her demands for the unedited police report and the body cam footage of Rodriguez’s killing to be released, along with new police policies of de-escalation and bilingual instructions from officers. She has been asking SAPD for the report since his killing and they have not given it to her. Rodriguez spoke only Spanish, but SAPD gave orders only in English and shot him over 30 times. CSO OC is supporting her with these demands as a part of their 24/48 Police Accountability campaign.

Maria Torres from Nuestras Manos started with “Arriba las mujeres!” She spoke about being a mother to three wonderful children and being an organizer for domestic workers for more than 25 years.

Torres stated, “I am a leader and community organizer. I am a proud member of Nuestras Manos. We are here to help you with any situation you may be dealing with your employer, like wage theft or any other issue. We will walk with you through the issue and teach you your rights as a worker.” She read a poem dedicated to women field workers, saying that she wanted to read it to honor women field workers who, like her grandmother, barely learned how to read or write. She ended with “Fuck you Trump, we are here, and we are not going anywhere!”

FRSO’s speaker, Diana Terreros, then spoke on Trump’s attack on women and trans rights through executive orders and court cases that eradicate reproductive healthcare for women, narrowly define sex and gender and ban trans women from women’s sports. She linked these actions to the ruling class defending their interests as capitalists: “The U.S. ruling class will continue to repress and punish anything that does not fit into the patriarchal, heterosexual nuclear family model that is essential to capitalism. We cannot rid the world of patriarchy and LGBTQ oppression while there is still a ruling class to benefit from it.” With a rallying call to the attendees, she concluded “the path forward for true women’s liberation, true LGBTQ liberation, and an end to national oppression is socialist revolution!”

Speaking on the Trump administration's attacks on trans women and trans rights, Michelle Darmary from Alianza Translatinx said that these policies “create a climate of fear where every step outside feels like a perilous journey.” She stated, “They may try to bury us, but they do not know that we are seeds, seeds planted in the fertile soil of resistance, watered by the tears of our ancestors, nourished by our unwavering love of our community, we will rise.” She ended with a powerful stance as a trans woman. “We will not be silenced, we will not be erased, we will not be denied, we are women, we are trans and we are here to stay.”

Then, Folk for Falastin, who strive to embody the Palestinian resistance through the preservation of their culture, gave a powerful and beautiful musical performance interspersed by chants of “Free! Free! Palestine!”

Manaal Subhani from CSO OC spoke on immigration by saying that the state needs immigrants as a labor force, but “immigrants cannot be reduced to workers for the United States. Immigrants contribute to innovation, culture and society. Immigrants are people, that’s why they matter! That’s it.” Subhani also spoke on the work of the Orange County Rapid Response Network, which significantly reduced the number of transfers from county jails to ICE custody, from 492 people in 2019 to just 17 in 2022, adding, “this is what we can do when we act united for change.”

The rally presented a strong call of solidarity among the different areas of struggle for women’s liberation. CSO OC will continue to fight for Chicana liberation through the fronts of community control of the police and immigration. Follow them on Instagram at cso.oc, Facebook at Orange County CSO, or reach them through email at orangecountycso@gmail.com.

The event was organized by CSO OC and featured speakers from the domestic workers group, Nuestras Manos, Orange County’s first trans-led organization; Alianza Translatinx, Freedom Road Socialist Organization (FRSO) and CSO OC along with a musical performance from Folk for Falastin. Resources and know your rights cards were shared at a table by OC Rapid Response Network.

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