Women Provide Vital Voices In DC

Story by Kaniya  Johnson. Photos by Tanai Green.

On May 5, 2022, our FCA young ladies gathered together to join other women from across the DMV area in a march hosted by Hillary Clinton.

There were plenty of photographers there ready to document this wonderful expression of freedom and to hear from keynote speakers, Hillary Clinton and DC mayor, Muriel Bowser. We marched around the Northeast area shouting,  "Vital  Voices!! "  After marching for a good 20 minutes we were led to the Vital Voices headquarters where we all gathered excitedly waiting for Hillary Clinton's appearance. 

After Hillary’s heartfelt speech, she introduced Muriel Bowser, the mayor of DC and talked about how they were trying to make DC a state. I don't support it. 

Tanai Green and I took various pictures. Then we  rejoined the rest of the schools in a tent where the hostess  gave another speech and then allowed us to eat. A woman named “Milk” performed songs that she and her associates created. This brought many people to tears.  Another woman told us about how she was a victim of domestic abuse. Nobody helped her, no one cared, and this led to her wanting to stand up for women all across the world starting with the Caribbean. She inspired millions of women and changed the world for the better. We are so lucky to have people like her. She then invited multiple students to grab some spray paint and some gloves. And we graffitied three very large whiteboards exhibited in the back.  

After that we took more pictures, walked around a bit, explored and went home happier and better women because of the experience.  

Kaniya Johnson is a sophomore at Friendship Collegiate Academy.