150+ Rally in Moscow for Reproductive Rights, DEI at People’s March
News Story by Morgen White | FāVS News
Calling for reproductive rights and DEI, more than 150 people rallied in downtown Moscow, Idaho, Saturday in a demonstration organized by Bans Off Moscow.
Advocating for Reproductive Rights
Bans Off Moscow is a grassroots political action committee based in Moscow, dedicated to ending Idaho’s extreme abortion bans, which organizers say are among the cruelest and most restrictive in the nation. While their roots are based in protecting productive rights for those in Idaho, the People’s March and Rally attendees waved signs protesting the University of Idaho’s DEI ban, as well as signs calling for women’s rights and environment stewardship.
Madi Sleight moved to Moscow in 2020 to attend the University of Idaho and now works as a social media manager. She joined Bans Off Moscow’s Slack channel several years ago, though she doesn’t recall exactly when.
“I’m always looking to get involved with things like this. I love Moscow, like I could see myself living here, settling down here forever, and I think it’s a really beautiful place,” Sleight said.
She was raised as a fourth-generation Latter-day Saint but she recalls being told she was asking too many questions when she was growing up.
“They just tell you not to ask questions, because if you ask questions, the answers don’t align with the church’s values. I eventually left the church. It was an inevitable thing. But I have always believed that you do not need to have faith to be a good person,” Sleight said.
Sleight points to faiths that have historically protected abortion.
“I think even historically, it (abortion) doesn’t really have a basis in faith. It has a basis in control, that’s what it’s always been about. I think no matter what faith you are, you should be able to express your beliefs and practice your bodily autonomy,” Sleight said.
The Need for Community
Pam Spens handed out ceramic goldfish to attendees. She compared the small mementos to a metaphor about how although, together individuals make up a group — like a school of fish.
Spens said that although she’s concerned the country is headed in a bad direction she wants to connect with the community.
“We need each other, and so I’m here to meet people and I’m trying to spread hope that if we band together, we can overcome some of the things that are coming and at least get through everything together,” she said.
Spens started working for Washington State University in 2010 but lives in Moscow. She also owns a pottery studio, where the ceramic fish were made.
UI and DEI
Once the crowd made it to East City Park, the rally began, though they promised to keep the program short due to the cold weather, which hung around 29 degrees. Despite this, most of the crowd stayed for the rest of the program.
Melanie Velazco Curiel was a guest speaker at the rally. In her speech she said that some of the audience members might recognize her as the student who protested at commencement by waiving a flag that read, “U of I needs DEI.” Curiel graduated from U of I in December.
Curiel spoke about her immigrant parents and her frustration toward people in power for caring more about banning an app than about the American people.
“They think those [DEI] spaces are discriminatory. That is the opposite of the case,” Curiel said, before going on to point the finger towards those in power. “For my fellow Gen Z, in the words of Katniss Everdeen, if we burn you burn with us.”
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