Organizers behind January’s massively successful Women’s March on Washington are calling for women everywhere (if feasible) to go on a general strike Wednesday, March 8, in “A Day Without A Women.”
March 8 is International Women’s Day, and in commemoration, there will be events taking place in St. Petersburg and Tampa.
If women can’t take the day off, they should wear red in solidarity, says Theresa Darlington, an organizer for the event in St. Petersburg, “and remove their pocketbook from the equation for the day.”
“They don’t shop at any big-box stores, they don’t grocery shop, unless it’s an allied or female owned business,” Darlington says.
From 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. in St. Petersburg’s Williams Park, organizers will be hosting a series of speakers, including Kanika Tomalin, the Deputy Mayor of St. Petersburg, and City Councilmember Amy Foster.
“We’re trying to be an umbrella organization between people who marched (in January), and where they can get more information,” Darlington says.
In Tampa, there will be an event beginning at 6 p.m. at the John Germany Library. Doors open at 5:30 p.m. and the forum will begin at 6 p.m. At 7:15 p.m., there will be a candlelight march to Gaslight Square Park, 410 N. Franklin St. (less than 2 blocks) where there will be a candlelight vigil and special ceremony to honor the important women in our lives.
“During the ceremony, the attendees will have the opportunity to speak a few words about an important woman in their life which allows each person to be an active participant in the ceremony,” says Marina Welch, the captain of the Women’s March Tampa/Hillsborough chapter.
“For women who cannot strike, who cannot afford to lose a day’s work because their household depends on their 70 cents to a man’s $1.00 earning capacity this evening event will give them the opportunity to join their sisters and allies in the rise of the woman in our nation,” she says.
