The First Ever National Period Day Rally - Inspiring Change, One Stride at a Time (2019, when it all began)
In 2019, the first National Period Day Rally took place in the Federal Plaza of Chicago. The event boasted numerous notable co-hosts, including Planned Parenthood, Chicago Now, the U.N. Association of Women, She Votes Illinois, Women’s March Chicago, Indivisible Chicago and Oak Park, the Chicago Period Project, and DePaul Women’s Center.
The rally was coined a “landmark event” by North by Northwestern, not only due to its sheer size and impact, but also the mastermind behind it. Lead Rally Coordinator, 16 year old Mary Catherine Hanafee Laplante of Prospect High School (currently a junior at Harvard University), was inspired to kick off the rally, acknowledging the importance of ubiquitous access to menstrual hygiene products.
This rally was one of 60 to be held around the country on October 19th, 2019; this day marked a significant culmination of the efforts of the PERIOD non-profit organization. The goal of the rallies was to discuss period poverty and demand that product access is expanded across communities of all socio-economic statuses. Organization founder and executive director Nadya Okamoto announced that the rally had successfully been held in all 50 states and in 4 countries, marking a significant stride in an effort to bring the staggering 35 states that currently do not consider period products an essential item; these items are thus subject to the sales tax, also coined as the “pink” tax.
Overall, this event served as a fundamental steppingstone to the remarkable progress that we have witnessed in menstrual health equity till this day. With critical political visionaries such as Kamala Harris, Julian Castro, Beto O’Rourke, and Cory Booker posting on social media platforms in support of the aforementioned socio-political agenda and Congresswoman Grace Meng introducing the powerful Menstrual Equity for All Act in March 2019.
Sources:
https://northbynorthwestern.com/students-demand-change-at-first-chicagos-first-national-period-day-rally/
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/period-day-first-ever-national-period-day-demands-menstrual-equity-2019-10-19/
