Members of the community marched and celebrated in downtown Corpus Christi Saturday in remembrance of the 1913 Women's March on Washington and the start of Women's History Month.
Attendees at the March March for the Vote event were able to parade around the park, shop from local women-owned vendors, register to vote, eat from food trucks and listen to speakers and live music from Chicas Rock.
The first local march was in 2020, just before the pandemic yielded lockdowns. A group of supporters, from local women's organizations including Delta Sigma Theta, YWCA, League of Women Voters of Corpus Christi and the American Association of University Women, marched from the Nueces County Courthouse to La Retama Park.
Lois Huff, event organizer, said the goals for the march included "keeping the spirit and essence of women who sacrificed for the right to vote alive and promoting the benefits of action and advocacy."
"The right to vote was not always a given," Huff said. "When something is important, it is worth advocating for. Just as women advocated and fought for the right to vote for over 70 years, this demands we all become informed participants in our democracy and remember that voting is the cornerstone of our democracy."
Speakers included Cecilia Garcia Akers, daughter of the late civil rights activist Dr. Hector P. Garcia; Clarenda Phillips, provost and vice president of academic affairs at Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi; Evelyn DeJesus, the first Latina officer elected as executive vice president of the American Federation of Teachers; and Nancy Vera, president of the Corpus Christi American Federation of Teachers.
Akers said she is thankful for everyone who showed up but reminded attendees to never sit at home during any elections.
"If you're registered to vote, go vote," Akers said. "We have to educate ourselves and be there for the candidates. We have to understand what's going on in this country and outside of it. Honor and respect our right to vote."
Phillips echoed Akers' words and said, "We have come a long way, but we have a long way to go."
Laura Ybanez, an attendee, said she was having fun at the event because people of all generations were coming together to uplift each other.
"It's not just women here, which is great," Ybanez said. "I hope people understand everyone is human and we need to help each other every chance we get."
Nueces County Judge Barbara Canales was another attendee in the crowd. She said she believes the event was meant to remind women of the struggle and to get basic voting rights.
"When women vote, women win," Canales said. "Women's voices are influential in their political decisions. We win on our issues and get our point of view across to everyone we speak to. This march is a metaphor for standing up for ourselves and walking towards the future of the next generation."
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