UPDATE 1/14/19: Three days of activism begins Saturday 1/19/19 with a rally and march from Cal Anderson Park:

UPDATE 9/26/18 1:55 PM: Organizers from Womxn’s March Seattle say they are working with the groups that hold the city’s annual Martin Luther King, Jr. Day march and rallies to coordinate on an event in 2019 that brings the two efforts together with respect for both and without overshadowing either cause.

CHS reported previously on a 2019 plan for a Sunday march starting in Cal Anderson but that event does not have the support of Womxn’s March Seattle which has been key in driving the past events. To eliminate confusion, CHS has removed details of the un-supported Sunday march. We apologize for adding to any confusion around the 2019 march.

Liz Hunter-Keller tells CHS that the weekend is still being shaped but that a “super group” of activists and organizations has been working on the plan and will announce participants and details soon. As it did in 2018, Womxn’s March Seattle is planning a Saturday of workshops and activism before next year’s event planned for Monday, January 21st in conjunction with the annual MLK celebrations and march.

In 2018, Seattle’s MLK march crowds filled multiple city blocks with groups representing indigenous communities, Black Lives Matter, and area labor organizations. The march followed a route from 23rd and Jefferson’s Garfield High School, to the East Precinct at the corner of 12th and Pine on Capitol Hill, and down Pine to Westlake. At 12th and Pine, the march came to a stop as the marchers took a knee, echoing the pre-game protests in the NFL.

Hunter-Keller said organizers of the women’s march will defer to the MLK organizers for the 2019 route.

In 2018, tens of thousands of people filled the streets of Capitol Hill, stretching from Cal Anderson Park to downtown. It was the largest event the neighborhood’s central park has ever hosted. Given the developments of the past year, 2019 might be even bigger.

The Seattle march, part of rallies, marches, and protests across the country, first stepped off in 2017 as around 120,000 people marched from the Central District to Seattle Center the day after the inauguration of Donald Trump.

The 2018 march filled Capitol Hill streets (Image: CHS)

With a year passed and possible anti-Trump fatigue setting in, officials and organizers were unsure how many thousands to expect on Capitol Hill as plans came together for 2018.

A similar logistical puzzle will be in play for 2019 but after two years of massive turnouts and the new coordination with MLK Day organizers, it is unlikely officials will be caught off guard.

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