Dancing for a cause

Dancing for a cause has never been so fun! Hundreds showed up yesterday to the Bessie Smith Cultural Center to raise awareness about violence against women at Chattanooga’s first One Billion Rising event. It was moving to see elected officials and those who want to be from all sides of the political aisles, survivors, their families and everyone in between step, jump and swing their hips, embarrassment be gone, to talk about an issue that is not always easy to discuss, but that impacts so many women in our community and around the globe — 1 in 3. (The one billion in the one billion rising is the number of women beaten or raped in their lifetime.)

There were a few technical difficulties — Sen. Bob Corker’s address couldn’t be streamed — and the microphone went out on the awesome band around 12:45 — but by that time the majority of people had left and those who remained were happy to just dance to the music.

Here’s to the 2018 event being even bigger, and more importantly, helping more women find the support they need to leave abusive relationships, find help and thrive. Thank you Partnership FCA for a wonderful event!