Hundreds Gather For Tri-Valley Women's March, Rally

PLEASANTON, CA — Almost 1,000 people gathered in Pleasanton Saturday morning to participate in the inaugural Tri-Valley Women's March. The event, which was organized by Tri-Valley Women's March Action Group, Livermore Indivisible, Students for Social Change and OFA East Bay Central, was held on Jan. 19 and was one of hundreds planned across the nation.

The civic event, which started with a rally on the Amador Valley High School football field and ended with a march to downtown Pleasanton and back, commemorates the historic 2017 Women's March on Washington.

“On this march we wanted to be inclusive, and reflect diversity of our communities,” organizer Kyoko Takayama told Patch. “I believe we were successful to create a space where activism meets community services. Last 2 years many of us learnt for the first time how to use our voices, and we worked hard to elect those who represent us from the city council to the congress. We are the #WomensWave.”

Speakers included Assemblymember Rebecca Bauer-Kahan, Tri-Valley Haven’s Director of Sexual Assault & Counseling Services Christine Dillman, the Jewish Community Relations Council’s Director of Public Policy and Community Building Jessica Trubowitch, along with several other women from the Tri-Valley area.

"It was inspiring to see so many people from our relatively small community rallied together for something that they are passionate about," said Claire McNerney at sophomore at Foothill High School.

A Women's Expo was held at the high school following the march.

Twenty people organized the rally with the help of 50 volunteers, according to organizers. Rallies were also held in Walnut Creek and San Jose.

Photo 1 courtesy Andrew Shotland

Photos 2, 3 courtesy Dorla Daugherty

Video embeds courtesy Kyoko Takayama