Port Townsend women’s civic contributions are richer and more varied than a beloved grandmother’s quilt. Spotlight the Jan. 21 local women’s march organized by Emelia De Souza, which brought together hundreds of upbeat women and concerned men standing up for social justice in our diverse nation and questioning the federal election influence peddling by WikiLeaks, Putin and Comey. To my delight, it was a surprisingly large turnout because many local women were away marching in Seattle or “the other” Washington.

In the crowd, KPTZ reporter Marcia Perlstein was interviewing marchers who had an array of reasons to participate, like safe-guarding women’s reproductive rights, racial & LGBT equality, and veracity in government. Also, Ellen Bonjorno’s KPTZ live broadcast from Seattle’s “Womxn’s” March kept us in tune with Seattle’s largest-ever political protest.

Banning together to question the recent ruefully corrupt, white male supremacist takeover of our federal government was heartening. Historically liberal policies are often followed by neocon backlash but the over-reaching, bullying, deceitful tone of the new administration is quite shocking to thinking people, igniting this worldwide protest of women’s marches.

The selfless commitment of women in our community who work for the common good gives me hope. Be it Sonja Schoenleber, who journeyed to D.C. to join the Women’s March and who for pride of our town daily cleans up litter, or Jo Yount, who nurtures several community gardens for the food bank, or JeffersonTransit driver Alice Lane, who braves all kinds of road conditions for her riders and befriends the homeless – we are flush with quiet but powerful women activists.

Active citizens bound together with determination like grandma’s quilt are the fabric and comfort of our nation. Working together for the good of the whole by loving and serving others, we experience real leadership.

LINDA ROHRS

Port Townsend