Together We Will – San José hosted an International Women’s Day event at Mountain View City Hall today. The event — which hosted multiple speakers and provided time for community members to socialize — was designed for activists to share their experiences being a woman.
The event was hosted by long-time activists IdaRose Sylvester and Sally Lieber.
The Post spoke to five attendees about their roles at today’s gathering and what change they hope to bring about for women. Here are their responses.
Cristina de la Fuente
Nurse Cristina de La Fuente is a regular protest-goer, and her exigence for attending today’s gathering was simple — she wanted to fight.
As a union nurse, de la Fuente says corporate policies hit her hard. In order to advocate for patients’ safety and workers’ rights, de la Fuenta has had to continuously advocate for what is right, she said.
“And now that we have a fascist and oligarch?” de la Fuente said. “You have to push much harder.”
According to de la Fuente, nursing unions are moving forward with caution when it comes to nationwide protests. However, she says the energy at today’s gathering was the polar opposite — as de la Fuente put it, “[They were] just all ready to go.”
Despite the lack of widespread protests, de la Fuente’s nursing union regularly invites people from the general public to help volunteer and advocate for health care, she said.
“Every union in every sector, even if they don’t use the word anti-fascist, they are anti-fascist,” de la Fuente said.
Tomara Hall
Dartmouth Middle School teacher Tomara Hall says she was invited to today’s gathering by Lieber. The event was Hall’s first time attending an action event in Mountain View, and she says she was shocked — the number of activists completely altered her perspective.
“Seeing a ton of people here today, I’m really inspired,” Hall said. “I’m very active in San Jose, but I try not to just go out there every time there is [a protest]. But I do believe, if I haven’t spoken in a while, that I want to go out and say something.”
Today’s event marked the first time Hall spoke out on International Women’s Day — something she says she had been looking forward to for months. According to Hall, being able to share her story made speaking at today’s event incredibly enticing.
Hall says it is imperative that all women — including queer women, transgender women, low-income women and unhoused women — are protected. To do so, she echoes one sentiment brought up by multiple speakers at the gathering: speak up.
“People need to fight in their own spaces, and the more we fight in our own spaces, the more change that will happen,” Hall said. “If people can speak up in their respective spaces, where they work, where they go to school, where their kids go to school, at their city council or school board, then that’s where change is going to happen.”
Samantha George
Cupertino resident Samantha George traveled down to voice her thoughts on recent legislation and policies that are currently impacting women.
“There are a lot of laws and regulations right now that are being introduced on our reproductive rights, and it baffles me that people think it’s okay that they have a say on what we do with our bodies,” George said.
George and the many women in her family were severely impacted by the regulations such as Project 2025, which affects access to abortion care.
“It’s important to speak and to be there for all the women in our community, especially in the time that we are right now,” George said. “It’s important to just be there and be there for everyone that we can.”
George’s plans to protest and advocate for women’s rights are long-term.
“For the future, I hope we see some sunlight in this situation, but for now, all I can do is voice what I feel and be out here today,” she said.
Lynne Bassell
Sixty-five-year-old Lynne Bassell traveled across the bay from San Ramon to show her support for International Women’s Day. This is not her first rodeo: Bassell says she has spent decades advocating for women’s rights, and she is not finished.
“I did this in the 70s, and I’m doing it now to protect the rights of women and to make sure things don’t [continue to] go as they are going,” Bassell said.
In the 70s, many women, including Bassell, sought equal rights and opportunities for both men and women. Today, many of these same issues, such as reproductive rights and workplace discrimination, still persist.
Lorena Roland
Attendee Lorena Roland was immediately intrigued when Sylvester sent her an electronic invitation notifying her about the community gathering.
“I like mild protests that are nonviolent, so she [Sylvester] said to come for International Women’s Day, and I was like, ‘Yes,’” Roland said.
Roland says protests can unite people and ease tensions that may arise during hard times.
“Find something that resonates because it makes you feel better,” Roland said. “It’s easy to get depressed, but it’s hard to stay depressed if you’re talking to people who are like minded.”
