WASHINGTON (WABI) – An Orono woman is back home Monday following a long weekend in the nation’s capital.
After attending the 2017 Women’s March in D.C., Teddi-Jann Covell went back to participate in this year’s version, the People’s March.
“This young lady right here is who I was marching for, my niece,” said Teddi-Jann Covell, holding up her phone to show a background photo of her niece. “I’m fighting for my nieces, and actually for my nephews and son, too, because what I went through in the 60s, 70s growing up, I don’t want them to have to go through.”
Covell says she grew up experiencing gender inequality firsthand. It was why, on the heels of President Donald Trump’s first victory, she was among the hundreds of thousands to attend the 2017 Women’s March.
She says the sheer turnout of protestors insisting women’s voices were heard inspired one of her paintings.
“When we got downtown DC, we could hardly move. Basically, we had our backs up against the Hirschorn Museum, luckily to be able to see a Jumbotron. There was no marching,” Covell said. “And I was just like, wow, this is like democracy at its best, right?”
Eight years later, with another Trump inauguration looming, Covell again decided to go to D.C. The name was different, The People’s March, but it had the same inspiring effect on her.
“A bigger painting this time. Because I think it’s important to chronicle what actually happened,” she said. “As they say, picture’s worth 1,000 words.”
This year’s crowd was just a fraction of the size of the one that came out in 2017. It had a different signature color, too, in contrast to the pink hats that were a hallmark of the first march.
“There were a lot of women who had the pink kitten hats on, but they had stressed loud and clear that they wanted it to be inclusive for the people, all people that are marginalized. So, they selected green,” Covell explained.
With their green knit hats, handmade by a Waterville High School classmate, Covell and her college roommate marched through the streets of D.C. Saturday.
Their weekend stops included a visit to Sen. Susan Collins’ office to voice their concerns and expectations for the second Trump administration.
Covell did all this, despite fears from some family members about her participation in such a public protest.
“I said, ‘I am not going to let fear run my life.’ This is the greatest country on Earth, and we’re just going to be able to stand up and, you know, utilize our freedoms that we have and our voice has got to be heard,” Covell said.
If you’d like to see more of her artwork, it’s on display at the Orono Public Library until the end of the month.
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