Tens of thousands of Americans who care about voting rights, women’s rights, the LGBTQ+ community, climate action, economic reform and more flooded the streets of Washington, D.C., on January 18 for the People’s March—a time for community building and social action—including 30 students from Kalamazoo College.
Thanks to funding through the Arcus Center for Social Justice Leadership, students such as Carter Haley ’28, Kennedy West ’27, Nick LaFramboise ’27, Ava Loncharte ’25 and Annslee Ware ’27 caravanned by bus to the nation’s capital for the weekend. The opportunity helped students develop personal ideas for how and why they should sound off in their communities and beyond about the issues important to them.
Each student echoed that the signs they saw—or even carried—represented signs of the times. That’s because many Americans find it difficult to support either end of the political spectrum as citizens are angered by and/or disappointed in both.
The students did, however, find purpose and solidarity with each other while building a desire to continue standing up for change.
Take Haley, for example.
“Ten years ago, you might’ve asked someone, ‘Are you a Democrat or Republican,’” he said. “I think we’re seeing now it’s more about the government versus the people. I feel our march was mainly the people trying to make their voices heard when the government isn’t listening.”
Haley came back to K feeling grateful, as participating in the march lit a fire under him that he didn’t expect.
“I didn’t understand the importance of it until I was there,” Haley said. “I didn’t understand the impact of 50,000, maybe 60,000 people. Seeing all those speakers and people of color was an amazing experience. It’s much different when you’re in it versus just seeing it on TV. Ever since I went on the march, I’ve been active in the Arcus Center. I’m a part of a committee made up of the people who went on the march, called Community and Resistance. We’re trying to focus on educating people about being a conscious consumer by not supporting companies who don’t support us.”
West previously found a passion for the Arcus Center’s mission and had been involved in similar, but smaller marches before. Yet the People’s March was special.
“A lot of conversations on the buses discussed that we were making history, or we were participating in it,” West said. “I feel like I wanted to say that, but I also wanted to speak up and stand in solidarity with others on the issues that are happening in today’s world. I’m proud that I was there to see other people who also find issues with what’s happening today.”
K’s representatives marched in a group that was focused on women’s rights, reproductive rights and rights for the queer community, which are issues that speak to West.
“A lot of times, we’re capable of talking about a bad situation,” she said. “We can say, ‘we need to change this and here’s why.’ But some won’t physically put in the work to make change. This march has motivated me even more to continue the work of promoting change, rather than just speaking about it. I had already been planning to do work outside of Arcus, but along with Arcus’ help, I’ve been more motivated. If we find an issue with campus or in the community, we can tell Arcus about it, and they will provide the resources to promote change.”
LaFramboise’s Washington, D.C., excursion was a return trip after visiting years ago as an eighth-grader. Since then, however, he has developed an interest in social justice, especially with the Black Lives Matter movement, which made the experience and the march that much more valuable.
“It’s incredible how Arcus was able to provide that opportunity for us,” he said. “I came to college for great opportunities to travel and get involved, and Arcus has been great at helping me get them. I really appreciate their allocation of resources because it didn’t cost us a dime to go. I wanted to go and voice my concerns. It was an obvious yes for me when I had the chance to go.”
While attending the March, LaFramboise heard voices and saw signs that expressed grief or dissatisfaction over social issues including trans rights, affordable housing and green-energy solutions, but his own big issue deals with the country’s political divide.
“I’m frustrated with how the American political system views its people and manipulates them to get votes because the views of the people are not necessarily reflected through the politicians that they vote for,” he said. “I’m concerned with economics and economic systems. I think it’s important to understand other social issues, too, including racism, homophobia and other forms of prejudice. I went to this people’s march with the intention of exploring those issues and more. Will we be able to come back from this mass divide that has occurred over the last 20 years or so? I don’t know.”
Loncharte saw documentaries growing up about protests during the Civil Rights Movement and the Women’s March in 2017 that prompted her desire to be a part of a protest herself in Washington, D.C.
“The environment, immigration justice and reproductive justice might be my top three issues,” Loncharte said. “But there are just so many things. I also want to hold the government accountable to serve the people. I feel like the government has forgotten that they’re supposed to be representing and serving us, and not the whims of billionaires. It’s sort of a newer thing that’s come to my attention, but it’s become painfully obvious in the last few weeks.”
As a senior working two jobs, Loncharte said she doesn’t have a lot of spare time to be more involved in the Arcus Center now, but she wishes she had been throughout her four years at K.
“I think so many people feel paralyzed by the scariness, the anger or the hurt of what’s happening right now and Arcus has people who know what they’re doing,” she said. “Arcus can help you get involved. I think an antidote to anxiety is action, and I think Arcus is there to help with that. I would recommend that anyone get involved.”
Ware previously attended gun violence protests in Nashville during her high school years, inspiring the sign she and Sofia Zeller ’27 created for Washington, which said, “Drag shows don’t kill, guns do.”
“I’ve always had a passion for advocating for people of color because I’m an Asian American woman myself, and I feel it’s important for me to use my voice, because I have the ability to do so,” Ware said. “I have always been involved with diversity and inclusion at my high school and some Nashville organizations. I want to feel like I’m getting things done.”
Ware said counter-protesters near the People’s March tried to discourage participation, although Arcus Center representatives prepared students well for what they would face during the event.
“The biggest piece of advice that I took away was to ignore the counter-protesters because they want to get a reaction out of you,” she said. “We didn’t want to give them the satisfaction of reacting. If you ignore them, they tend to feel awkward and flustered.”
Ware says that a fear of anything—counter-protesters, for example—shouldn’t paralyze people into feeling apathetic.
“We might feel like we can’t control anything,” she said. “But doing something positive could start with just talking to someone at the Arcus Center or volunteering there. I felt love was encompassing us on the trip because we were all fighting for each other and for ourselves.”
The People’s March, rebranded from the 2017 Women’s March to broaden its reach, brought together thousands of individuals and groups focused on bringing attention to a broad range of issues, providing an opportunity for interested K students to stand up, speak out and seek change.
“Many K students who came to Arcus were dismayed by the outcome of the elections and fearful about what would come,” Arcus Center Executive Director Emily Williams said. “The Arcus Center for Social Justice Leadership’s mission is to create social justice leaders and increase the capacity of existing leaders. As activists and community organizers ourselves, we know that attending a historic event such as the People’s March and connecting to the power of the people is exactly the experience that would not only catapult students into the kind of activism that is required to protect democracy and human rights over the next four years, but it’s the kind of experience they will remember for a lifetime and share with future generations.”