Women’s March echoes in the Lowcountry as Beaufort County women make bigger plans

Just three weeks after protesters gathered for the Women’s March in cities across the country, a smaller, yet just as determined group in Beaufort County was working on phase two Saturday afternoon.

About 70 women and a few supporting men joined Chris Chiaviello in her home in Beaufort for a “huddle,” or a small group of informal conversation, as part of the Women’s March 10 Actions in the First 100 Days campaign to further organize their initiatives.

But the women of younger and older generations overlooking Battery Creek were not alone; according to the Women’s March website, 4,558 huddles have formed as of Saturday evening.

Chiaviello said the primary reason for gathering was for everyone to get to know each other and start forming ideas to better the Women’s March initiative.

“It’s all organizing and strategizing, basically,” she said.

Grace Touger, of Beaufort, manned the sign-in sheet as women continued to arrive at Chiaviello’s home. She said she’s the daughter of a League of Women Voters president and has participated in political action since the Vietnam War protests. The huddle, she said, was an opportunity for people to support one another, come together and begin work in the face of stress.

“We can have a plan, so it’s not so overwhelming,” she said.

As participants gathered around couches, tables and chairs throughout the house, each began writing letters to their representatives in Congress. Women wrote postcards to Sen. Lindsey Graham and Sen. Tim Scott detailing what actions they would like the senators to take in the next 100 days and mail for Graham and Sen. Mitch McConnell with the words “Nevertheless, we persist” in response to Sen. Elizabeth Warren being silenced on the Senate floor Tuesday.

Groups began discussing issues that concern them, including immigration, reproductive rights and voter suppression.

Women shared suggestions such as speaking to their local representatives, helping voters get to the polls, including more diversity in the discussion, finding and sharing information on state and local actions, meet regularly and getting people to run for local office.

There were even discussions to hold local marches for Tax Day on April 15 as a call for President Trump to release his taxes and March for Science on April 22 in an effort to support the science community.

Touger said the response to the Women’s March was surprising and the local turnout in Beaufort on Saturday afternoon was shocking.

“It does look like it’s making a difference,” she said.

This story was originally published February 11, 2017 at 7:57 PM with the headline "Women’s March echoes in the Lowcountry as Beaufort County women make bigger plans."