Salem Womxn's March to focus on inclusivity of all women one year after Trump inauguration

One year after thousands of people squeezed onto the Oregon State Capitol Mall as part of the International Women's March on Washington, new organizers are planning on hitting the streets Sunday with a focus on inclusivity.

Thousands of men, women and children in Salem joined roughly 2 million people at more than 600 demonstrations throughout the world demanding reproductive rights for women, equal rights for the LGBTQ community and equal rights for immigrants on the heels of President Donald Trump's inauguration in 2017.

This year, Lisa Kendall said a group of new organizers is working to ensure all women-identifying individuals feel welcomed and supported at the 2018 Salem Womxn's March.

Organizers added the 'x" to be more inclusive of all women-identifying individuals and the LGBTQ community. The "x" is a nod to a growing trend of transforming a word to make it gender neutral. Words like "Latino" and "Chicano" are also sometimes referred to as "Latinx" or "Chincanx" to get rid of the male and female gendering of words in Spanish.

The change comes months after Oregon became the first state in the United States to allow residents to mark their gender as "not specified" on applications, marked with an "X" instead of an M or F.

"Initially there was not going to be a march, and we thought there should be one on the anniversary of the last one," Kendall said. "This all happened so organically."

Information tables will be set up for attendees to learn about Measure 101, women's health, Planned Parenthood, different languages and more.

Kendall said there will also be a photo booth for attendees to snap photos with signs with messages in different languages, including in English, Spanish, French and Russian.

Representatives from Portland State University Native Center will be providing insight into Native American languages at the table as well.

"We're really focusing on language because languages are a bridge," Kendall said.

Speakers will begin speeches at noon and the march begins at 1 p.m.

The march will start at the Oregon State Capitol, head down Court Street NE, turn right on High Street NE, turn right on Chemeketa Street NE before returning to the Capitol Mall.

The march route is just under a mile.

If you go

2018 Salem Womxn's March

Oregon State Capitol

Sunday, Jan. 21, 2018

Noon: Speakers begin

1 p.m: March begins

Speakers:

- Slam poets

- Karen Garst, former director of the Oregon State Bar

- Danita Harris, Basic Rights Oregon

- Hannah Shooting Bear

- Doctors Sheila Goldsworthy and Valerie Heffner, Salem Clinic OB-GYN

- Deborah Patterson

- Lamar Wise, Oregon Student Association

Information tables:

- Salem Art Association: Fractals of Identity

- Salem Rainbow Youth

- Measure 101

- Oregon Student Lobby

- Diversity & Language

- Indigenous People's Day

- Women's Health

- Planned Parenthood

For more information on the march, visit Salem Womxn's March on Facebook.

Email Lauren Hernandez at lehernande@statesmanjournal.com, call 503-399-6743 or follow on Twitter @LaurenPorFavor

