MomsRising is a proud partner of the Women’s March, happening today in Washington, D.C. and in cities across the United States. MomsRising leaders helped draft the march’s Unity Principles and thousands of MomsRising members will participate. I'm CEO and executive director of MomsRising,  an online and on-the-ground organization of more than 1 million mothers and their families, and I'm a member of the host committee of Where We Go from Here: Women’s Town Hall and Reception, taking place at the National Press Club in Washington, D.C. at 6 pm this evening.

My remarks, delivered at the Women’s March in Washington, D.C., follow.

REMARKS by Kristin Rowe-Finkbeiner, Executive Director & Co-Founder of MomsRising at the Women’s March in Washington, D.C., which was attended by 1.3 million people, on Saturday, January 21, 2017:

Hello Marchers!   My 101-year-old grandma fought for women’s rights with the same fierce determination that led her to take DRIVING lessons on her 95th birthday.

18-wheeler truck driving lessons. Wearing kitten heels. 

My great grandma & mom fought for women’s rights too.

And my son & daughter march today. 

• Our nation IS generations into this fight. 

And we’re absolutely NOT turning back now.

• Who out there’s a mom?
• Raise your hands if you’re able!
• Now who out there has ever had a mom?
• Raise your hands TOO if you’re able! 

Feel that power!?  That’s OUR power.  Our movement includes everyone who's ever had a mom.

Together, we’re AN inspiring, spectacular, world-changing, powerful force.

We are Black mothers, Latino, White, Asian, Muslim, Jewish, Christian, and mothers of all immigration statuses. We are moms who are differently abled, trans and gender non-conforming... and sometimes we are all those moms in one.

We are powerful! 

Together too we face obstacles.

For instance, facts -- yes, real facts, they still exist -- show women earn just 80 cents to a man’s dollar, moms just 71 cents, and MOMS of color earn as low as 46 cents to a man’s dollar.

Our country often claims to worship mothers, but in truth, moms face a lifetime of economic risk. 

And 82% of women become moms.

But we, together, have the power to change all of this for the better.  

And we know that when this many people are having the same struggles at the same time, we have structural issues that we can solve together; NOT an epidemic of personal failings or a national free fall into dystopian “carnage."

By raising our voices, by sharing our truths, by amplifying each other; we can build an America that lifts all our families, our businesses, and our economy.

So together we rise.

We rise too against bullies. And just as we teach our children not to bully; we know bullying isn’t leadership.  

We are the leaders we need.

We’re leading the way to advance policies that lift our country. 

Like:

Healthcare.  Fair pay.  Affordable childcare.  Paid Family Leave.  Criminal justice reform. Gun Safety and Police Reform.  Food justice. Sick days. Fair treatment of all families, including immigrant families. Maternal justice.

• We won’t stop fighting until we win.

The unfair treatment of any one of us, hurts us all.Silence is not an option. Our freedoms are intertwined. They are indeed, intersectional.

So we stand, we march, we rise for each other.

We rise knowing democracy and justice aren’t about one day, one person, or one election. 

Knowing that the arc of justice bends only when we act.

And: Knowing that we stay engaged in the easy times, and double down when it’s hard.

 *Are you ready to double down now? When I say a word, you say: RISING! 

• Women… RISING!
• Moms… RISING!
• Communities… RISING!
• America… RISING!

The over million members of MomsRising stand & rise with you.  

We invite you to take action now with us at www.MomsRising.org/stand.

Together, we are the fierce, determined, and inclusive leaders our nation needs.

Generations of work brought us here today, but the fights we face now may be the hardest yet.

We will not be bullied. We will not be silenced.

We will rise together.

I believe in us.

Thank you.