Princeton Mayor To Participate In Women's March On New Jersey

PRINCETON, NJ — Princeton Mayor Liz Lempert will participate in the Women’s March in Trenton on Saturday, Jan. 21, the Princeton Packet reports.

“It is going to be more important than ever that people will stand up and be vocal about things important to them, and to use our collective voice to make a strong statement,” Lempert told the newspaper.

The Women’s March in Trenton is one of the multiple sister marches for the Women’s March on Washington set for Saturday, one day after President-elect Donald Trump is sworn in as the nation’s 45th president.

“This is about trickle down bigotry,” Elizabeth Meyer, founder of the Women’s March on New Jersey, said in a statement announcing the march. “Our America is great. On January 21st, we will be here, in Trenton, to make it greater. We will move forward, not backward.”

The gathering will begin at 10 a.m. at Patriot’s Theater at the Trenton War Memorial, 1 Memorial Drive in Trenton, although organizers recommend participants begin showing up at 9 a.m.

The march to the State House commences at 11 a.m. The walk to 125 West State Street is about a half mile. A rally and call to action follows at noon. To sign up, click here.

A total of over 300 marches are planned nationwide and across the world.

The centerpiece march is in Washington, D.C. where over 200,000 women will descend on the nation’s capital “to send a bold message to our new government and the world on their first day in office.”

That message is, “Women’s rights are human’s rights and we will stand in solidarity for the protection and safety of our families and the environment,” organizers say.

“We have had some wonderful advances during the last eight years, including LGBT rights and victories at the Supreme Court that validated women’s right to choose, and we are not prepared to go back and will accept nothing less,” said Diane DuBrule, Acting Executive Director, ACLU-NJ.

“Women have struggled. We bear children. We take care of families. We take care of friends. We are fighters. So, when we march in New Jersey, we march as one. We will not be a chess move,” Assemblywoman Angela McKnight (D-31) said.

“One of the reasons I am marching is to stand up against all forms of hatred, bigotry and injustice including Islamophobia and Anti-Semitism,” community activist Azra Baig said. “There has been an unprecedented amount of backlash against the Muslim Community across America, including against Muslims in New Jersey.”

“As women we need to make sure that we weave our fabric so tight that not one piece of thread becomes unravelled so that we can sustain,” said Francis Blanco, the Chief of Staff for Trenton Mayor Eric Jackson. “The takeover begins here in Trenton on January 21.”

“This march is for everybody. We need men as fathers, grandfathers, sons, brothers, uncles, and nephews to stand up and say these rights are not just for one sex. These are human rights and this is about ensuring there is equality under the law,” said Doug O’Malley, Director, Environment New Jersey.

“We’re joined in solidarity to send a clear message to Washington that they cannot roll back protections for human rights, women’s health, and the environment. We’re joining people all across the globe and saying to the Trump Administration that a woman’s right is a human right. We all have the right to a clean and healthy planet. This is just the beginning of our battle to protect our future,” said Jeff Tittel, Director of the New Jersey Sierra Club.

For a complete list of more than 20 sponsors and more march details, visit the March’s official website or the event's Facebook page.