Kristel Crumpler and her sister Merrily Sanders Porter wait to start the Austin’s Women’s March. (Courtesy photo)

By BARBARA GREEN
Two Bowie women who marched in Austin and Washington, D.C. this past Saturday called their experience “uplifting” and “life-changing” as they joined people from every walk of life to stand up for a vast spectrum of human rights in the Women’s March.
While it may have been called the Women’s March, the post-inaugrual events drew an estimated five million people around the world. In Washington an estimated one million people took part in the walk and closer to home in Austin the crowd was set at about 50,000.
Jan Browning and Kristel Crumpler are hometown Bowie girls who grew up and raised their families here. Browning traveled to the nation’s capitol for her march, while Crumpler went to Austin.

“We talked about it and thought it was going to be an historical event I wanted to be part of. I also want to hold the president and Congress accountable for issues I care about,” said Browning as she discussed the event with her son Chance who works in Washington D.C.

“It was an uplifting experience for me. It was not so much about protesting against issues as it was advocating for issues. It was me was standing up for my sons who deserve to be treated decently. It is a way to advocate for things I believe in and all human rights,” explained Crumpler who attended with her sister, Merrily Sanders Porter.

Read the full feature in the mid-week News.