On October 26, many in Port Macquaire will gather to Reclaim the Night, wearing pink beanies to march around the CBD, taking a stand to say, that everyone has the right to feel safe, no matter what they are wearing or when they are out.
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The pink beanie was the brainchild of two American women who, after the controversial election of Donald Trump as President of the United States in November 2016, decided to get people together to take part in a Women’s March on Washington DC.
While the march was to take a stand against the president, it was also advocating that as a community, whether in Washington DC, America or the world, everyone has the right to be treated with respect and as an equal.
The highly successful march was replicated all over the United States on January 21 and all over the world that same weekend.
In Washington DC on holiday last January, I attended the march with a friend of mine, excited, but filled with trepidation, that the inauguration, and the divisive events of the day before, would consume the march.
On the morning, we donned our pink clothes and joined hundred of thousands walking in the National Mall.
Off the back of so much tension the day before, the most surprising thing about the march was the love, peace and joy that encased the United States capital.
Despite some assuming the march would become violent, on the day, the mood was nothing but jubilant.
The rally cries that sung out over the crowds were not of hate, but of collectiveness and inclusion, with people calling for equality and love.
Less than a day after the inauguration, the tension that had been so palpable in the days before, had made way for peace and hope.
The march was a joyous occasion, bringing together and celebrating people of all races, nationalities and genders. Standing among so many people I remember feeling such a sense of happiness and determination, that, if we work together, change is possible.
On October 26 in Port Macquarie, the Reclaim the Night march will take place from 6.30pm at the Glasshouse forecourt with many turning out for the same reason, equality - that everyone has the right to feel safe.
I marched in Washingon DC and I will march again in Port Macquarie, because nothing is more important than having the right to equality and to feel safe.
