Marchers Protest Domestic Violence

The Franklin Street post office provided a stage for Judy Woodall as she sang, spotlighted by street lamps, for participants in the third annual March for Justice on Monday night.

"Start a new orbit around a new sun, start a new way around an old one," she sang.

Woodall's performance of the song "Burning of the Flame," which she wrote for the event, marked the end of the night's effort to raise awareness about domestic violence and the plight of those who must bear abuse in silence.

"We need to create some new pathways in our lives," said Woodall, the former chairwoman of the Orange County Commission for Women. "We need to develop alternatives to violence."

Usually held by the Commission for Women, this year's March for Justice was a combined effort including the Women's Center, the Orange County Family Violence Prevention Center and the Orange County Rape Crisis Center. The collaboration helped increase this year's turnout, said Hudson Fuller, board chairwoman for the Family Violence Center.

"All the agencies (got) involved because we all see (domestic violence) on a day-to-day basis," she said. "The turnout is at least twice as many people as we've had in Hillsborough."

Nearly 60 men, women and children huddled together on the cold fall evening in front of the Women's Center, located at 210 Henderson St., as they waited to march single file up the two blocks to the post office, their miniature flashlights piercing the growing dusk.

"(We have the flashlights) because there is something to commemorate," said Milan Pham, county staff liaison to the commission, as she trekked behind the line. "We want people to know that the commission for women exists."

Raising awareness and giving a voice to those who are silent out of fear made the march invaluable, said computer consultant Dan Coleman of Chapel Hill.

"When some people are being victimized by others, people who can speak out on their behalf should do so," he said. "The need to raise awareness is fundamental."

Fuller said men like Coleman are a great help to the cause. "We're fortunate that there are enough enlightened men who realize that this is a family issue, not just a women's issue," she said.

Durham resident Melissa McCullough saw the event as a gun issue. She carried a sign proclaiming in black magic marker, "Each day, one woman's life is lost to domestic violence with a gun."

McCullough was there to represent the Million Mom March, an organization active against gun violence and attempts by gun manufacturers to market guns to women.

"We thought (the march) was important," McCullough said. "It used to be just wife beating, now it has accelerated to the point where women are dying (by guns)."

After the march, the participants clustered around the post office steps to hear guest speaker Rep. Joe Hackney, D-Orange. Like all those involved, Hackney believed the march was crucial to the cause.

"With the fact that we have domestic violence in our community, I think it's important to keep it front and center. A march every year is a very good way to do that."

The City Editor can be reached

at citydesk@unc.edu.

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