Teresa Shook never considered herself much of an activist, or someone particularly versed in feminist theory. But when the results of the presidential election became clear, the grandmother and retired attorney in Hawaii turned to Facebook and asked: What if women marched on Washington around Inauguration Day en masse?
She asked her online friends how to create an event page, and then started one for the march she was hoping would happen.
By the time she went to bed, 40 women responded that they were in.
When she woke up, that number had exploded to 10,000.
Now, more than 100,000 people have registered their plans to attend the Women’s March on Washington in what is expected to be the largest demonstration linked to the inauguration of Donald Trump, and a focal point for activists on the left who have been energized in opposing his agenda.
Planning for the Jan. 21 march got off to a rocky start. Controversy initially flared over the name of the march, and whether it was inclusive enough of minorities, particularly African-Americans, who have felt excluded from many mainstream feminist movements.
Organizers say plans are on track, after securing a permit from D. C. police to gather 200,000 people near the Capitol at Independence Avenue and Third Street SW on the morning after Inauguration Day. Exactly how big the march will be has yet to be determined, with organizers scrambling to pull together the rest of the necessary permits and raise the $1 million to $2 million necessary to pull off a march triggered by Shook’s Facebook venting.
The march has become a catch-all for a host of liberal causes, from immigrant rights to police killings of African-Americans. But at its heart is the demand for equal rights for women after an election that saw the defeat of Democrat Hillary Clinton, the first female presidential nominee of a major party.
“We plan to make a bold and clear statement to this country on the national and local level that we will not be silent and we will not let anyone roll back the rights we have fought and struggled to get,” said Tamika Mallory, a veteran organizer and gun-control advocate who is now one of the march’s main organizers.
More than 150,000 women and men have responded on the march’s Facebook page that they plan on attending. At least 1,000 buses are headed to Washington for the march through Rally, a website that organizes buses to protests. Dozens of groups, from Planned Parenthood to the antiwar CodePink, have signed on as partners.
Organizers insist the march is not anti-Trump, even as many of the groups that have latched on to it fiercely oppose his agenda.
“Donald Trump’s election has triggered a lot of women to be more involved than they ordinarily would have been, which is ironic, because a lot of us thought a Hillary presidency would motivate women,” said Dana Brown, executive director of the Pennsylvania Center for Women in Politics at Chatham University. “A lot of women seem to be saying, ‘This is my time. I’m not going to be silent anymore. ”
Boris Epshteyn, spokesman for the Trump Inaugural Committee, defended the president-elect’s popularity among women in an interview on CNN. While Trump did not receive the majority of women’s votes he got an “overwhelming” number of them, Epshteyn said.
“We’re here to hear their concerns,” he said. “We welcome them to our side as well. ”
That all this could grow out of a dashed-off post from her perch nearly 5,000 miles from Washington is amazing to Shook, who has booked her ticket and plans to be in Washington on Jan. 21.
“I guess in my heart of heart I wanted it to happen, but I didn’t really think it would’ve ever gone viral,” Shook said. “I don’t even know how to go viral. ”
Unsure of how to proceed those initial few days, she said she enlisted the help of the first few women who messaged her to volunteer, some of whom independently also had an idea for a march. But as the march grew in prominence, it got caught up in a broader conversation in liberal circles about race and leadership, with activists and others criticizing that initial planning group for its racial makeup: Shook said all the women, including herself, that she tapped to help in the march’s nascent stages were white.
Some also took issue with the name Shook had proposed, the Million Woman March, which was the name of a 1997 black women’s march in Philadelphia. The racial concerns set off a heated conversation on the group’s main Facebook page, with some African-American women especially taking umbrage.
For her part, Shook said her aim was not to coopt any other movement. It was just an idea that took hold after the victory of a president-elect caught on tape boasting of grabbing women’s private parts, and the defeat of a woman who seemed to her much more qualified for the job. She said she had no idea the race of the women she first contacted; in fact, she said, most had an image of Clinton as their Facebook profile photo.
Complicating matters, it became apparent that the march likely could not start at the Lincoln Memorial as Shook had proposed, since the inaugural committee has dibs on that space.
Overwhelmed and under pressure, the original organizers eventually handed the reins to a diverse group of veteran female activists from New York: Mallory, the gun-control activist; Linda Sarsour, executive director of the Arab-American Association of New York; Carmen Perez, head of Gathering for Justice, a criminal justice reform group; and Bob Bland, a fashion entrepreneur.
Together, they settled on a new name: The Women’s March on Washington, a nod to the 1963 demonstration that was a cornerstone of the Civil Rights movement. They even got the blessing of Martin Luther King Jr.’s youngest daughter, Bernice King.
In D. C., Janaye Ingram, the former executive director of Al Sharpton’s National Action Network, has been working to secure permits and hash out logistics for the march, including ensuring there is a proper sound equipment and sufficient Porta Potties.
People traveling to attend the march seem less concerned with behind-the-scenes politics than the chance to call for more family-friendly government policies, equal pay for women or reproductive rights. Some simply want to stand against the crass way Trump has spoken about women.
Lindsey Shriver, a 27-year old former pastry chef who is now an at-home mom in Ohio, said she was offended this election cycle by Trump’s rhetoric, which she characterized as “hateful and misogynistic. ” She also wants to highlight the need for paid family leave and affordable child care.
“I realized that being a feminist in my own personal life wasn’t going to be enough for my daughters,” said Shriver.
Caroline Rule, 57, an attorney living in Manhattan, says she will attend with her 15-year-old daughter. While she agrees with the pro-women message behind the march, she said she’d likely participate in any march that pushed against Trump’s messages.
“I absolutely despise Donald Trump and everything he stands for,” she said.
Feminist icon Gloria Steinem has recently signed on as a march co-sponsor, and celebrities like Amy Schumer, Samantha Bee and Jessica Chastain say they plan to attend as well.
Feminist scholars say the march reflects an emerging view of feminism: That it is less defined by reproductive issues such as birth control and abortion and more about how the challenges faced by women intersect with those encountered by African-Americans, gays and immigrants.
Still, reproductive rights will be a large part of the march, with Planned Parenthood and NARAL Pro-Choice America as key partners.
Hahrie Han, a political science professor at the University of California at Santa Barbara specializing in political organizations and political engagement, said it’s not all that surprising that individual women instead of an established organization founded this march. Established organizations all come with at least some political baggage.
“The challenge with having one organization brand it as its own, is that each organization has its own image that draws some people, and pushes others back away,” she said.

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Brexit poses a outrageous risk to UK wildlife and habitats and a new environmental law will be needed, MPs have said.
Even where EU law is incorporated into a UK’s authorised horizon there could still be problems, they warn.
The House of Commons Environmental Audit Committee also says farmers are confronting poignant threats including detriment of income and tariffs on exports.
The supervision says it is committed to defence and improving existent environmental protection. Problems with incorporation
Whether it is a cleanliness of a UK’s beaches, wickedness control or a insurance of species, most of a UK’s environmental and wildlife legislation is secure in EU directives.
The supervision has pronounced that it will deliver a “Great Repeal Bill” that will incorporate many of these regulations into UK law when Britain leaves a union.
However, Environment Secretary Andrea Leadsom certified that about one third of a stream environmental manners would be formidable to unseat into UK law, observant “there will be work to do to safeguard we can continue to make these measures work once we leave a EU”.
For instance, a EU’s Birds and Habitats Directives have given most larger insurance for furious birds and special areas of charge than domestic UK legislation – though these will no longer request in their stream form in UK law even if Britain stays in a Single Market.
The cranky celebration Environmental Audit Committee (EAC) says that to safeguard that there is no weakening, a new environmental insurance act should be upheld during a Article 50 negotiations.
“European law protects outrageous amounts of a UK’s environment, tillage and countryside,” Mary Creagh, chair of a committee, told BBC News.
“The routine of withdrawal a EU presents a outrageous risk to all of those protections that is because in a news we’re job for new environmental insurance act so that when we leave a European Union we are no worse off stable than we are during a moment.”
And it suggests incorporating EU law into a UK authorised horizon could outcome in these protections apropos supposed “zombie” laws, that are no longer updated and could be simply eroded with minimal parliamentary scrutiny.
Environmental campaigners concluded that this was a poignant concern.
“The Great Repeal Bill contingency enclose approved safeguards to make certain that no poignant amendment to a range or purpose of EU environmental legislation can be done though being theme to full parliamentary scrutiny,” pronounced Sam Lowe from Friends of a Earth.
“No one voted to ‘take behind control’ for a UK Parliament, usually to palm it true over to a minister, brandishing a red pen, with a energy to undo critical inlet protections on a whim.”
The news also focuses on a impact of Brexit on farming, indicating out that a Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) creates adult between 50-60% of some plantation incomes. The MPs contend they have a series of worries about a destiny of farming.
“UK tillage faces poignant risks – from a detriment of subsidies and tariffs on plantation exports, to increasing foe from countries with weaker food, animal gratification and environmental standards,” pronounced Mary Creagh.
“The supervision contingency not trade divided these pivotal protections as we leave a EU. It should also give clarity over any destiny plantation subsidies.”
Many environmental campaigners trust that Brexit represents a really good event for reforming a EU tillage process that they contend has been one of a biggest drivers of environmental decrease in a UK and other tools of Europe.
“There needs to be estimable remodel – if a rancher is holding H2O on his margin upstream that is assisting to forestall downstream flooding, that’s not a blurb activity for a rancher though that’s where open funding is warranted,” pronounced Trevor Hutchings from WWF-UK.
“There’s a outrageous event here to have a clever and abounding tillage community, sourroundings as good as servicing a open good.”
Responding to a news a supervision forked out that a UK is a signatory of general wildlife insurance conventions, such as Ramsar and Bern , that are eccentric of EU membership.
A orator said: “The UK has a prolonged story of wildlife and environmental insurance and we are committed to defence and improving these, securing a best understanding for Britain as we leave a EU.”
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The Parker Palm Springs, with its candied-colored hues of yellow and orange, was the place to be seen Tuesday morning at the Creative Impact Awards luncheon feting the 20th anniversary of Variety’s 10 Directors to Watch.
Among the celebrities at the Bellini-soaked brunch, thrown in tandem with the 28th annual Palm Springs International Film Festival , were “Hidden Figures” and “Moonlight” actress Janelle Monae; “Captain Fantastic” star and Creative Impact in Acting Award recipient Viggo Mortensen ; Pharrell Williams , honored with the Creative Impact in Producing Award for shepherding “Hidden” figures to the big screen; and “Loving” helmer Jeff Nichols, recipient of the Creative Impact in Directing Award.
“Glee” star and comedian Jane Lynch introduced Variety’s Vice President and Executive Editor Steven Gaydos, who created the 10 to Watch list as a means by which to earmark talented artists on the rise in Hollywood. Directors who previously made the list include Wes Anderson, Andrea Arnold, and Tom Ford.
“Palm Springs is just such an awesome great festival,” said Gaydos. “It feels like my neighborhood party.”
Gaydos gave special thanks to PSIFF chairman of the board Harold Matzer, the myriad local artists of Palm Springs, and world renowned glass sculptor Dale Chihuly, who designed the awards for Variety honorees.
Variety Chief Film Critic Peter Debruge introduced the 10 Directors to Watch by way of expressing his deep gratitude for his tenure at the trade.
“I have one of the best jobs in the world as the chief film critic of Variety,” said Debruge. “We are champions first and foremost. Why we sit through the terrible [movies] is to get through to the great ones.”
The directors of those chosen “great ones” — a mix of documentaries, narrative features and genre films — are Maren Ade (“Toni Erdmann”); Ritesh Batra (“The Sense of an Ending”); Otto Bell (“The Eagle Huntress”); Julia Ducournau (“Raw”); Geremy Jasper (“Patti Cake$”); Barry Jenkins (“Moonlight”); brothers Emmett and Brendan Malloy (“Tribes of Palos Verdes”); Kleber Mendonca Filho (“Aquarius”); William Oldroyd (“Lady Macbeth”); and David Sandberg (“Lights Out”).
Batra, Bell, the Malloys, Filho, and Sandberg were all at the brunch to accept their awards.
“Captain Fantastic” writer-director Matt Ross — a 2015 alumnus of Variety’s 10 Director to Watch list — was on hand to introduce Mortensen, fresh off a plane from Madrid, Spain, despite feeling slightly under the weather. (“Now you’re sick, too,” joked Mortensen after hugging Ross.)
Regarding his lead turn as an unconventional father raising his six kids in the wild after their mother’s suicide, Ross called Mortensen “selfless and brave, and a collaborative artist that cares about the things that really matter.” He also touted Mortensen as a modern-day Renaissance man: “He’s frighteningly well-read, and a father, a photographer, an artist, a painter.”
To further illustrate how committed Mortensen was to the role, Ross revealed that the Oscar-nominated actor camped out in a teepee and grew his own vegetable garden prior to the film’s shoot.
“He has made one of the best movies of this year,” said Mortensen in turn. “It’s a movie that’s prompted [audiences] to laugh, to cry in some cases, and most importantly, to think. I thank you Matt Ross for ‘Captain Fantastic.’”
When introducing Nichols, Negga, in a stunning sequined pencil skirt, gushed, “He is one of the masterful storytellers of our time. His films glow with humanity.”
Nichols, whose latest film chronicles the landmark 1967 Supreme Court case making interracial marriage legal in the United States, spoke of wanting “to make films that affected people.”
While “Loving” depicts a watershed moment in American legal history and the beginning of the civil rights movement, Nichols says he was inspired and influenced to direct the film because of the “great true love” between Mildred and Richard Loving.
“I saw that true love in my grandparents and my parents and I try to see that in my own marriage,” said Nichols.
Up next, Monae and “Hidden Figures” co-star Jim Parsons introduced Williams, with Monae hailing the producer-songwriter-composer-singer as “a visionary, a Renaissance man, a man who has done it all. He truly does believe women are the future. We are ‘femme-ing’ the future.”
Williams, humbled and nervous, took the stage, brimming with gratitude for everyone who helped in the creation of “Hidden Figures,” including his producing partner Mimi Valdez, also in attendance.
“Everybody’s been so poetic today,” said Williams. “You guys said the kindest things ever. Remember, all the motion in our film is powered by some brilliant human being. It’s really been incredible. My heartbeat is doing 9o billion heartbeats per hour.”

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© Source: http://variety.com/2017/film/news/pharrell-williams-variety-creative-impact-award-palm-springs-international-film-festival-1201951869/
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It was nearly 10 years ago that I fell in love with Lady Gaga, through catchy pop-dance classics like “Poker Face,” “LoveGame” and “Bad Romance.” The romance continues with her soulful and visceral latest release, Joanne. I never thought I’d get to see and hear her perform the hits I’ve listened to on repeat for years, let alone up close in the luxurious Encore Theater in celebration of a new year.
As soon as Gaga first took the stage on December 30, clad in a floor-length, hooded, backless gown that sparkled like a beacon, she captivated the show’s 1,000 attendees. Her voice sounded fantastic, better live than recorded, and she performed with New York jazz musicians Brian Newman and his quintet and Steve Wynn’s ShowStoppers orchestra. It was as if we’d been transported to the Prohibition era, with Gaga as time-traveling muse. The six-time Grammy winner opened with “Theme From New York, New York,” and whirled through favorites like classic show tune “Bewitched, Bothered and Bewildered,” Cher’s “Bang Bang (My Baby Shot Me Down)” and Edith Piaf’s “La Vie en Rose,” which she dedicated to Mr. Wynn and sang almost entirely in French.
There was also a brief piano performance during which Gaga began to play a rendition of “Bad Romance” before switching to “Million Reasons,” per an audience member’s request. We became her backup singers as she paused to let us fill in the lyrical gaps, a rare opportunity to become part of a dynamic performance—but I’ve always felt connected to her lyrics. I might have questioned her alien-like metamorphosis on Born This Way, but I’ve come to love and embrace her bold defiance of societal norms. Friday night marked an exceptional end to a year in need of her love, confidence and class.

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