Women’s Joyful & Defiant Action at the DNC Milwaukee 2020

In a typical presidential elections cycle, the Democratic National Convention (DNC) is the site of celebration for many Americans and protest for others who seek to push a potential incoming administration towards particular policy positions.

Covid-19 presented a unique challenge to all factions involved with DNC 2020. Planned to be held in the Midwestern city of Milwaukee, WI, the event’s physical presence there was scaled back considerably to little more than a virtual one in response to the pandemic.

Yet in other ways history repeats itself: we Americans are still stuck with the same old choice between the lesser of two evils and a vote that is wholly uninspiring and devoid of spirit. Which is one reason why many of us opt to take to the streets in joyful, creative ways to break through the binary of the two-party system and express a real desire for openness, conversation, and community in service to our country.

Two women from our Defend Feminists Campaign, Kerri Bruss and Thistle Pettersen, joined forces with other brave women from Illinois, Washington, Michigan and Wisconsin, to protest the Biden campaign’s promise to prioritize passage of the Equality Act, which as written, undermines the sex-based rights and protections of women and girls.

In this lively video compilation created by April Morrow to mark the U.S. launch of the international Women’s Human Rights Campaign (WHRC), you will see the women gathered at Pere Marquette Park preparing for their March, an interview with Thistle by Spectrum News (that to date has not been aired), the women’s original protest dance/chant being performed on the designated ’free speech’ stage at the park, and also witness scenes from their soulful boat voyage down the Milwaukee River as it traveled the city’s entire downtown corridor, captained by Lesbian Feminist Extraordinaire, Miriam Ben-Shalom.

We of the Defend Feminists Campaign support women’s free and creative expression in the face of extreme pressure to conform to the mold of Candidate A or Candidate B with no alternative considerations allowed. The original songs featured in the video are by Thistle Pettersen and are called “Michigan”, aka “Gender Hurts” and “Sticky Red Egg” respectively.