[Milwaukee, WI] – On Saturday, March 11, partner organizations of Milwaukee’s International Women’s Day (IWD) Coalition will once again lead a celebration of this important holiday. The celebration will begin at 12:00PM with a march from Dontre Hamilton Park (Red Arrow) to Village Church (130 E Juneau Ave.). Speeches will be delivered at Village Church, where endorsing organizations will also be tabling.
Last year’s IWD celebration was an enormous success with its focus on honoring women on the frontlines of the COVID-19 pandemic and those leading the George Floyd uprising. This year’s theme will be “Hands off our bodies! Hands off our families!” This theme will shed light on the important struggles against the attacks on reproductive rights and the police crimes that impact countless families.
2022 represented massive steps backwards for oppressed people, especially women of color. Following the Dobbs decision, abortions are now outlawed in Wisconsin, where the 1849 State Statute 940.04 is the law of the land. Moreover, US law enforcement killed at least 1,176 people in 2022, making it the deadliest year for police violence. The attacks on reproductive rights and the increase in lethal police violence pose related threats to women in this country. However, as they did in the early 20th century when this holiday was first celebrated, women today are leading the struggles against these attacks. They are organizing in the community and the workplace, and they are fighting back!
The partners and sponsors of Milwaukee’s International Women’s Day Coalition include: Reproductive Justice Action – Milwaukee, Students for Democratic Society – UW Milwaukee, Milwaukee Alliance Against Racist and Political Repression, Freedom Road Socialist Organization, Milwaukee Antiwar Committee, Veterans for Peace, Peace Action, Jewish Voices for Peace, Party for Socialism and Liberation, Young Democratic Socialists of America, Midcoast Collective, Coalition to March on the RNC, Butterfly Collective, Wisconsin Coalition to Normalize Relations with Cuba, Wisconsin Greens, Planned Parenthood, Medical College of Wisconsin – Students for Choice, AFSCME 526, and AFT 212, and ATU 998.
