My Trip to Seneca Falls and the Finger Lakes
A week ago I went to Seneca Falls for the Women March! Seneca Falls is the birthplace of Women's Rights! In
1848, Seneca Falls held the First Women's Rights Convention! The
Convention is famous for being the place the Declaration of
Sentiments was presented by Elizabeth Cady Stanton. 170 years later
15,000 people marched for equality for all! While there were many
solidarity marches throughout the world, including one in my hometown
I thought that going to where it all started was extremely
appropriate!
The March started at 10:30 am, but we got
there a couple hours early to eat breakfast and get a good spot for
the Rally. Seneca Falls is a small place and it's main street has a
lot of cute shops. We had breakfast at a place called Wildflowers,
which toted on its front windows that it was "Women owned and
operated!" The line was out the door and everyone in it was a
woman there to support the march!
The Rally was held in the Women'sRights National Historical Park, despite the Park's Center being
closed due to the Government shut down. Habitat for Humanity donated
generators so that the Rally would go on as originally they were
going to get the electricity for the microphones and speakers. That
kind of set the tone for the day. Not the shut down but the kindness
of others.
All of the speakers at the Rally were
phenomenal! There were professors and politicians and even the Bear
Clan Mother. My favorites were Arlette Miller Smith and Lt. Governor
of New York, Kathy Hochul. Miller Smith kicked off the Rally with a
poem adaptation of "A Gathering of Women." She is a dynamic
performer who captured her audience in the best possible way. She was
such a powerful speaker. I taped her poem and I've watched it
multiple times this week. It gives me strength (wanna watch it?
Here's the link!). Lt. Governor Kathy Hochul was equally powerful
when she talked about how New York is always ahead of its time. We
were first to legalize gay marriage, first to give free college
tuition for the middle class, first to legalize abortion, and first
to hold a Women's Rights Convention, of course, which led us to be
the first State East of the Mississippi River to grant full women's
sufferage! Basically, not only to women rock so does New York!
My friends Mary, Anja, and I were near
the front of the Rally and as such we were towards the back of the
March. This was fine by me because on the way out of the park I got
to see the front of the March and it put the entire thing in
perspective. That and the fact that by the time we got to the end of
the route most people had left. The March itself was a lot of fun.
Hearing hundreds of people chant the same thing with all their
hearts, seeing all of the amazing protest signs, and feeling all the
love and support and hope in the air made me feel so much better.
After the March ran its route, those
who could convened at the Communtiy Center to hear more amazing
speakers talk about great topics such as disability, reproductive,
LGBTQIA, and immigrant rights, pay equity, ending systemic Racisim
and sexism, environmental justice, eradicating violence and sexual
harrasment against women, and passage of the proposed ERA! That's
what I loved about this March. It wasn't just women's issues but a
lot of the issues facing Americans right now.
The Women March in Seneca Falls was a
fantastic, uplifting experience that I'm so glad I got to go to. I
believe the 15,000 of us that were there were a little bit a part of
History. We took over Seneca Falls for a day to gain equality for
all. I'm so thankful to the organizers, Seneca Falls and its citizens
for welcoming us, and its police force for keeping us safe.
When in Rome, or in Seneca Falls we
couldn't leave without seeing what there was to see. So we made our
way down Fall St to the National Women's Hall of Fame! Our original
plans saw us going to the National Park Center, but since it was
closed due to the shut down it gave us an excuse to see the Hall (and
a reason to go back, I always try to see the bright side)!
The Hall of Fame, which had free
admission on the day of the March but is usually $4, was only a
couple of rooms but it packed a powerful punch! So many plaques
telling the amazing stories of so many inspiring women. Honestly,
after the early morning start and the exhausting March it was a
little hard to concentrate on those plaques. I'm sure that on another
trip I would have been able to read more of them, but as it is I
didn't read too many that I didnt know.
We went on, up then down Fall St, going
into many of the shops, most of which had women working in them,
including a small boutique, a shop called Women Made, and the visitor
center! I picked up post cards and souvenir pennies, my staples in
travel. Our last stop was to the Statue called "When [Susan B.]
Anthony Met [Elizabeth Cady] Stanton" which depicts as you can
probably tell the meeting of two great suffragettes being introduced
to one another by Amelia Bloomer on May 12th, 1851! Seeing the most
famous names in the Suffragist Movement was the perfect way to end our time in
that birthplace of Women's Rights.
Seneca Falls is in the Finger Lakes
district of New York State. This marks my first trip out that way.
The Anthony-Stanton-Bloomer statue looks out over Van Cleef Lake and
we also got to see northern bit of Seneca Lake when we went to Geneva
for dinner! We got there at the perfect time and were able to catch
the sunset! It was absolutely gorgeous!
If you ever get the chance, you won't
regret going to the Finger Lakes and while you're there you should
make a point of visiting Seneca Falls, even if there isn't a March
going on!
~Laura!
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