The Women’s March on Washington, D.C., in January 2017 comes into focus in a new exhibition titled Nevertheless, She Resisted: Documenting the Women’s Marches at the University of Georgia’s Hargrett Rare Book and Manuscript Library
An estimated 725,000 protesters gathered in the streets of Washington for the first Women’s March in 2017. Cities across the country and around the world echoed the scene, hosting sister marches that drew an additional 4.1 million attendees. Protesters gathered one day after the presidential inauguration to voice their concerns following a divisive campaign season.
Nevertheless, She Resisted examines the Women’s March of 2017 and 2018 through posters, photographs, articles and ephemera. It explores the branding of a new women’s movement and the connections it shares with historic movements for suffrage and women’s rights in the U.S. The display also considers the counter-protesters who appeared at these demonstrations, and the signs, buttons and other ephemera generated in support of their view. Finally, it explores the ways in which this ongoing movement has shifted and evolved.
Much of the material on display documents recent events, but some of the objects invite visitors to look back to past women’s movements and their connections to the present day. Exhibit curator Terri Hatfield of the University of Georgia’s Institute for Women’s Studies wants visitors to walk away with an understanding of the scope of these events.
“I hope this exhibit gives a sense of the broader political implications and issues that compelled people to protest, and draws connections to women’s movements of the past and their historic impact,” she said.
The items on display are all part of the Lucy Hargrett Draper Center and Archives for the Study of the Rights of Women in History and Law. The Draper Center and Archives documents the world’s movements for women’s rights.
The Hargrett Library Gallery is inside the Richard B. Russell Building Special Collections Libraries at 300 S. Hull Street. The building is open free to the public from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. weekdays and 1-5 p.m. Saturdays.
Nevertheless, She Resisted will be on display through May 17.