POUGHKEEPSIE – An estimated 3,000 people marched across the Walkway Over the Hudson on Saturday in support of social justice, jobs and clean energy. Climate marches were held across the country to coincide with the Trump administration’s 100 days in office.
(Facebook photo: Fred Schaeffer)
“We’re excited to be together in solidarity to send a strong message to our country that we are united as a diverse community of allies,” said Lauren Ardman, one of the Walkway event organizers. “These People’s Climate marches are crucial, local ways to show support for this powerful and inclusive movement.”
Event coordinator Alexandria Wojcik said New York’s anti-fracking movement demonstrated the power of the local movement.
“The Hudson Valley is a Petri dish for effective grassroots organizing,” Wojick said. “We’ve already stood up to some of the scariest super-villains of our time, looked them directly in the eyes, and after years of persistence, we won; we already know how to resist and we just need to apply the same tactics on an even bigger scale now. Today is just the beginning of the next phase of the People’s Climate Movement.”
Rachel LaBere, another organizer, said they have been organizing locally “to stop the rollbacks on policies that helped address climate change and environmental injustice.” LaBere said elected leaders “need to see that their dreary, divisive vision is not what this nation wants or believes in.”
