Many concerned citizens, including the Alliance of Nurses for Healthy Environments (ANHE)’ Director of Member Engagement and Professional Education, Dr. Hannah Noel, DNP, RN, are walking across four states – 160 miles – in an effort to hold America accountable to the rights written into its founding document: the Constitution. The We Are America March began at Independence Hall in Philadelphia, PA on September 6th and will end in the U.S. Capital on September 19th where the group plans to deliver a copy of the Constitution directly to Congress.
Why? For many reasons: from climate change, racism, and gun violence to addiction, food insecurity, isolation, attacks on immigrants, LGBTQ+ rights, and reproductive health, to name a few. As nurses are on the frontlines of all of these intersecting threats to health, ANHE supports those walking with the We Are America March and encourages members in the Mid Atlantic region to join in support.
The We Are America March will head through Wilmington (Sep. 8), Baltimore (Sep. 15), and DC (Sep. 19). Learn more about the marchers’ route and how to get involved here.
“We’re marching because the promises of the Constitution are being broken. The values that I thought were universal – freedom, collaboration, and community, to name a few – are being deprived. But across the country, people aren’t standing by—they’re standing up. This march is how we bring that energy together and stay activated. The march is an escalation that amplifies the message already echoing across the country: We are not powerless. We are not alone. I wanted to bring people together in community – to show that those collective values are still alive, to transform scattered action and feelings of powerlessness into a shared story rooted in solidarity, persistence, and the radical belief that freedom belongs to all of us.”
“With the devastating cuts to funding for health care and international aid, I’ve seen so much grief and loss.. Loss of income, loss of passion, and loss of that sense of service. Where do people put that energy? That’s why I’m walking. Because we need to put this energy into collective action.”
“I’m marching for democracy for all people. Not an individual. Not a group. For everyone. For their rights.”
“I’m marching because I’m a nurse, I’m a mom, I’m queer, and because I am able. I want my children – all children – to have clean air to breathe and clean water to drink. I want them to grow up in a place where they feel safe, valued, and supported exactly as they are.. whoever they are.”
