To the Editor:

The current administration has now been in office for almost a year, and its effects are being felt all over the Capital District. The new tax law, designed to enrich corporations, will hurt local families as it increases their tax burden.

The tax law’s repeal of the Affordable Care Act’s individual mandate will deprive many of our friends and neighbors of health insurance. Immigration and Customs Enforcement has deported friends and neighbors and broken up families.

The young people previously protected by DACA [Deferred Action Childhood Arrivals], many of whom live, work, and study in our region, now fear deportation to countries they hardly know. The administration has worked to restrict women’s access to health care and to curtail reproductive rights.

Its denial of climate change, and policies stemming from this belief, will devastate the environment. The president is no supporter of New York: He suggested in July that residents of upstate New York who cannot find suitable jobs should simply leave their homes to find work elsewhere.

Residents of the Capital District must fight back against such callous actions and attitudes. One year ago, the Resistance was born out of the desire to do just that: to speak out loudly against this administration’s assault on our shared values and its attempt to erode our democracy and the rule of law.

We continue to resist. On Saturday, Jan. 20, 2018, from 1 to 3 p.m., a coalition of activists and progressive groups from the Capital District and beyond are hosting a second Women’s March in West Capitol Park in Albany.

We will renew our insistence on the right of all Americans — no matter their race, religion, sexual orientation, or creed — to live without fear and discrimination. We will demand that the administration implement policies that lift up everyone rather than just the wealthy.

We will voice our unbending resistance to this administration as we recapture the spirit of the historic Women’s Marches that took place all across the nation and the world one year ago. This rally will be in support of all members of our community, and it will be a public discussion and affirmation of the values we consider fundamental to our society: fairness, inclusiveness, community, justice, and respect — for each other and for the law. We hope everyone who believes in these values will join us.

Our guest speakers will include: Congressman Paul Tonko, Albany Mayor Kathy Sheehan, Assemblymember Patricia Fahy, Judith Enck (former Environmental Protection Agency Regional Administrator), Barbara Bartoletti (former legislative director of the League of Women Voters), Donna Young (Albany Law School professor), Libby Post (co-founder of Empire State Pride Agenda), Deirdre Patterson (organizer/activist with NY19 Votes and IndivisibleNY19), Fabrizia Rodriguez (attorney and advocate for the migrant community), Councilwoman Dorcey Applyrs, Kathy Stevens (women’s rights advocate), and Jennifer Lemak (chief curator of history at the New York State Museum).

Please see the Facebook site for more information: https://www.facebook.com/womensmarchalbany/. To sign up: http://womensmarchalbany.eventbrite.com/. And to contact organizers: .

Castina Charles

Altamont Main Street USA

Emily Marynczak

Bethlehem Indivisible