Indivisible Tuscany

Photo: EUPS Students Sara Leming (x2018), Ciara Watson (x2018), and McKenzie Otus (x2018)  

By McKenzie Otus

Since 2017, citizens on both sides of the Atlantic have taken to the streets in marches and movements. One of the most visible marches was the Inaugural Women’s March held the day after President Donald Trump’s inauguration in 2017. On January 21st, 2017 what many expected to be large crowds in DC turned into a worldwide movement: over 2.6 million people marched in locations from Nairobi to Paris to Belgrade and back. The event not only spanned the globe, but also spanned generations with marchers from great grandmothers with signs about “now you’ve pissed off grandma” to young girls with signs demonstrating Rosie the Riveter declaring “I can be President”. I attended the Women’s March last year (2017) in my hometown of San Francisco, California where we marched down Market Street in the pouring rain. It was a profoundly emotional experience uniting people of all backgrounds and crossing generations to show that we will fight for the future we deserve.

Cut to a few months later, the day before my 23rd birthday when I received an email from Dr. Scherpereel with the subject line “JMU EUPS: congratulations!”. I was so excited to have gotten into my dream type of Master’s program, studying politics and living in Europe; however, this little voice in the back of my head anticipated that I was already going to feel a little fear of missing out while living abroad in the most engaging moment in US politics than I can remember in my lifetime. Although I was born and raised in a liberal bubble, a majority of my participation in politics at the civil society level had been limited to heading to the polls each election, but less to attending protests. As I sent my deposit for the EUPS program, I did not hesitate, but that little voice in my head felt sadness that come January 21st, 2018 I would not be able to participate in the Women’s March in the way I once had.

My fear of missing out on opportunities to advocate for political causes that I support while being abroad has turned out to be completely unfounded. In fact, Florence has provided many opportunities for me to still feel like an engaged American citizen from abroad. Exactly one year after I was able to participate in the Women’s March from my hometown, I participated in the Women’s March in Firenze. That day, two other EUPS students and I took a study break from writing papers in the Palazzo. We bought some pizza and used the boxes to make our signs with odes to powerful women--from Ruth Bader Ginsburg, to Princess Lea, to Michelle Obama. March organizers distributed handouts in Italian and English to explain the goals of the Women’s March, and everyone was encouraged to climb the steps of Piazza San Lorenzo, grab the megaphone, and share their personal story. Some shared stories of how moving abroad has increased their awareness and power of their femininity, while other nonnas expressed the desire to see what type of society their granddaughters will grow up in.

Through organizations like Indivisible Tuscany, events such as the Women’s March, March For Our Lives, and Science March are organized in Piazza San Lorenzo to bring together the local Florentine community, expats, and Americans spending their semester abroad. I was lucky enough to sit down with Nancy Bailey, one of the founders of Indivisible Tuscany, who discussed with us the evolution of American political activists living in Firenze. Nancy first came to Europe to study abroad in the 1960’s and has stayed in Europe ever since after meeting her Italian husband and raising her family here. Efforts to mobilize Americans in the Florentine community first began after the first Gulf War broke out in 1991, where a committee of US citizens came together with Iraqi citizens to protest the rampant bombing of civilians. This group of expats evolved into US Citizens Against War with the second Gulf War. Last year, before the Women's March, US Citizens Against War came together with other expat groups including Women’s March Florence, Democrats Abroad, and Italian groups who promote human rights to create the umbrella organization of Indivisible TUScany. The expat community in Firenze is very politically engaged, as they come from different parts of the world, from different US states, and keep in touch with what is going on in US states while in Florence. Indivisible TUScany tries to organize solidarity events to raise awareness of the issues in the U.S while simultaneously mirroring these events in Piazza San Lorenzo, such as the Women's March and March for Our Lives. In addition, Indivisible TUScany works with expat groups in Rome, Milan, and Bologna to promote this solidarity of expats all across Italy.  

My connection to the Women’s March has now changed in a fundamental way. In one sense I believed that experiencing it in my own backyard was the most connected I would feel to the women around me, but in reality, Florence felt more like home. Hearing from women of all ages, various linguistic backgrounds, and both expats and local Florentines showed the diversity and power of this event and spread my emotional bond to a deeper level. Next year, whatever city I am marching in whether it be in the US or in Europe, my chants will now be in English and Italiano perché “viva la donna!”.