Downtown Augusta seeing reproductive rights march on Saturday

Miguel Legoas, Augusta Chronicle
·2 min read

Traci George of the People's Agenda has been knocking on doors and registering voters. Now she wants to march them down to the polls.

The longtime activist is organizing a "Roe, Roe, Roe the Vote" march on Saturday, starting at the Davidson Fine Arts Magnet School parking lot, then marching a mile down Telfair Street to the Augusta-Richmond County Municipal Building, where Augusta's advance voting polls are located.

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"We heard from many that they would be intimidated to go vote, they wanted vote buddies," George noted in a text message. "My plans are to bring over 300 voters to the voting booth on Oct. 22, the first early Saturday of midterm voting."

George has already rallied dozens of other activists to join her Saturday, such as "Reproductive Rights Protesting, Augusta" founder Beth Gray, state Rep. Gloria Frazier, and Nic Filzen, pastor of the Unitarian Universalist Church in Augusta.

FILE - Around 400 protesters joined the march down Broad Street in Augusta on July 2 to protest for women's rights. A similar march is being held along Telfair Street on Saturday, Oct. 22.
FILE - Around 400 protesters joined the march down Broad Street in Augusta on July 2 to protest for women's rights. A similar march is being held along Telfair Street on Saturday, Oct. 22.

These activists were initially sparked into action by the repeal of Roe v. Wade in June. Some states instituted their own legal protections for abortions, but others, like Georgia, were able to pass or activate legislation significantly reducing the access to abortion or eliminating it entirely.

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FILE - Organizers River Good (left) and Elleana Garcia speak to the crowd during the Women's Rights March down Broad Street on Saturday, July 2, 2022. Both are scheduled to be at the march on Saturday, Oct. 22.
FILE - Organizers River Good (left) and Elleana Garcia speak to the crowd during the Women's Rights March down Broad Street on Saturday, July 2, 2022. Both are scheduled to be at the march on Saturday, Oct. 22.

Currently, the activists' goal is to vote in new leaders or continue to keep leaders that support access to abortion and other reproductive rights. President Joe Biden tweeted in September that if Democrats keep the House and if two additional Democratic senators are elected, they would codify Roe v. Wade at the federal level.

This article originally appeared on Augusta Chronicle: Augusta reproductive rights march, protest to be held downtown Oct. 22