Students hold women's rights rally across from Madison High School

MARSHALL - People heading home from work the afternoon of May 11 may have heard honking as cars drove past students holding signs along the bypass outside Madison High School.

At first glance, one might have thought the students were advertising for a fundraiser for a spring sports team.

Instead, the students were holding signs in protest of a leaked draft opinion of the Supreme Court showing the high court may overturn the landmark Roe V. Wade decision that established a constitutional right to abortion.

Rose Jeffrey, a freshman at Madison Early College High School, organized the event, which took place after school in the Burger Parlor parking lot.

"We are young women, mostly - we are young people, and this law is going to affect us all," Jeffrey said. "I think that young people are not informed enough, especially in our school system, about stuff like this. A lot of us aren't informed on this stuff, and I think everyone has the right to be informed about everything. Everyone has the choice to do what they want with their own bodies. I wanted everyone to be aware and have the option to come out here and support."

The freshman said she spoke with her English teacher, Dusty Josefiak, as well as other students and teachers after she first thought of holding a demonstration in the end of April.

Through this coordination, Jeffrey and her fellow students decided to hold the protest across from the high school rather than on school grounds, as school officials worried about the protest being held on campus, according to Jeffrey and Josefiak.

"I was very impressed, because she had a little bit of pushback," said Josefiak, who is in her first year at MECHS, said. "She still went through with it and organized in a cohesive kind of way. She wasn't easily deterred. I was very impressed with her ability to organize for her protest. Amazing. This is all because of her."

Madison Early College English teacher Erin Long is one of the teachers who supports the students in their protest, she said at the demonstration.

"I'm glad they're stepping up," Long said. "This is a big deal for women, and they organized this themselves. So, that's pretty cool. We've got a really solid group of girls who realize that their voice matters."

Rose Jeffrey's mother, Sydney, said her daughter has always exhibited leadership qualities.

"She's a very independent person, and very strong willed, and will stand up for what she believes in. I know Rose can rally the troops," Sydney Jeffrey said. "I know my daughter. She's just got that spirit about her. I'm certainly proud of her, and I absolutely support her. It's her generation that's going to have to suffer the consequences if they overturn Roe v. Wade."

"I know Rose can rally the troops," Sydney Jeffrey said. "I know my daughter. She's just got that spirit about her."

Sydney Jeffrey admits that she was at least a little fearful of receiving blowback from less supportive Madison residents.

"There was definitely a little bit (of apprehension), for sure," Rose's mother said. "That's why we wanted to get as many parents here as possible, just in case if there was any violence. Especially in Madison County, you have to be careful of that."

While there may have been concerns about a negative reaction to the protest, Josefiak said her teacher peers were supportive of the protest.

"Most of them support it, absolutely," Josefiak said. "Of course, there have been some dissent, but that's the nature of the protest. I'm in the English department, so there's not that big of a pushback. As far as the other teachers, I haven't really heard anything. It's either been silence - because they dissent and they don't wish to express their opinion, which is fine - or they support it."

Alexis Allen is a sophomore at MECHS. She said she has attended similar rallies in Asheville and Raleigh but has never experienced a women's rights rally in Madison County prior to the May 11 event.

"The overturning of Roe v. Wade affects young women like us, as much as it does grown women," Allen said. "The right to health care is a human right. This is a conservative county, so we don't get our voice heard as much unless we go to Asheville. For the people who don't have the opportunity to come out and have their voices heard, we're doing that for them. We're letting them know that we're not alone and we're not going to let this happen.

"We're not going back from when our grandparents were fighting 50 years ago. We're not going back to that. It's 2022. I shouldn't have to fight for my rights anymore."

Judy Major, the Jeffreys' neighbor in Mars Hill, attended the event after Rose invited her to come out.

Major said she remembers celebrating Roe v. Wade's passage nearly 50 years ago.

"I just had this sort of gut reaction that I have got to be there, because literally 50 years ago, I was celebrating with friends because of Roe v. Wade being passed," Major said. "It was a big moment in my life, and to think now that this many years later, we risk losing that right is just incredible."

James Nichols and his mother, Valerie DuPuy, came out to support Nichols' daughter-DuPuy's granddaughter, a MECHS freshman who also attended the event.

"It's a new world," Nichols said. "The old boys club has got to stop. It served us maybe 200 years ago, but it doesn't serve us now. We've got to stop all this. Just focusing on the human rights here - this is just the start of it. It's a human body issue. The end goal is to take control of the human body."

Nichols and DuPuy moved to Madison County 16 years ago, according to DuPuy.

The grandmother, like Major, remembers celebrating Roe v. Wade's passage.

DuPuy said she is encouraged by the students' initiative though.

"I haven't seen this before in the county, especially for it to be organized by and have originated with the children," DuPuy said.

Long wondered whether the protest rally was indicative of a "tide turning" moment in the county, in which more progressive and liberal-minded residents may feel increasingly responsible for speaking out on their views.

"I feel like we've always tried to really encourage them," Long said. "We try and get them signed up to vote as quick as possible, and things like that. We bring voter registration forms to the school. We try to encourage them to stand up for what they believe. As future voters, what they have to say matters."

When Rob Amberg moved to the county in 1973, he remembers witnessing a Ku Klux Klan rally in Mars Hill.

He said he, like Long, is hopeful the county is in the midst of an awakening due to students interested in social justice and gender issues, such as those gathered at the demonstration May 11.

"My daughter is 31," he said. "What I recognize in her generation is a real distinct change. in terms of how not only issues of choice, but issues of discrimination, pro-LGBT rights, racism issues, it's almost become a non-issue to them. I think that these kids are probably part of that attitudinal change. To me, I'm going to be 75. To be able to see it is just an absolutely great thing."

According to the event organizer, the demonstration went as well as she could have hoped.

"I'm very happy that all my fellow school students and friends were able to come out here and show support, even if other people weren't supporting us," Rose Jeffrey said. "We have each other, and we're going to do it anyways."

This article originally appeared on Asheville Citizen Times: Students hold women's rights rally across from Madison High School