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Women’s March
Goes Global
Against Trump
Although rain clouds darkened skies from coast to coast on Inauguration Day, rays of sunlight burst through by Saturday for a historic Women’s March against Donald Trump that took place in major cities across the US and around the world.
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In what is being called the biggest one-day protest in US history, the Women’s March on Washington prompted millions of Americans to take to the streets from New York to Los Angeles and everywhere in between.
An estimated 500,000 people participated in the main Women’s March in Washington, DC, while the same numbers were seen in New York City. In Chicago, 250,000 people marched. In Atlanta, it was 60,000 people. There are estimates of 250,000 people in Boston, and 200,000 more in Denver. In Los Angeles, organizers expected 80,000 participants, but 750,000 showed up. There were also estimates of 60,000 in Oakland, CA, 50,000 in Philadelphia, 100,000 in Madison, WI, 20,000 in Pittsburgh, 20,000 in Nashville, TN, and 60,000 in St. Paul, MN.
However, the protests didn’t end at the US border.
In London, 100,000 people marched and shouted “Dump Trump.” In Toronto, the estimate was nearly 60,000. At least 10,000 took to the streets of Sydney, Australia. In fact, Saturday’s rallying cry was heard from Paris to Prague, Sydney to Johannesburg, and in some 20 cities across Canada.
Unlike Trump’s poorly attended Inauguration and pathetic parade, the numbers and the global participation of the Women’s March are unprecedented. In fact, there has never been a one-day protest this large in the history of the United States.
By comparison, the 1982 anti-nuclear march in New York City drew an estimated crowd of 1 million. The 1963 Civil Rights March on Washington drew 250,000. The 1969 anti-Vietnam war march in Washington was attended by an estimated 500,000-600,000, while 1995’s Million Man March was attended by 400,000-1.1 million. In 1993, the LGBT March for equal rights had a crowd of 800,00-1 million.
The Women’s March is positive proof that the American people and the world will not accept the racist, misogynistic, xenophobic agenda of Donald Trump without a serious fight. It was also a peaceful presentation of pink “pussyhats” that brought downtown Washington to a standstill and displayed a global sisterhood never before seen in modern times.
Donald Trump initially refused to acknowledge the mass protests that were a deliberate message for the man many fear is prepared to roll back the rights of women, immigrants, gays, and minorities. However, after his handlers likely held him out for a long as they could, the thin-skinned Trump eventually took to his Twitter account to blast the protesters, saying “Why didn’t these people vote?”
Still, Trump’s sourpuss mood could not dampen the spirit of the sisterhood.
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“I’m part of history, and one day will tell my children about this,” said 16-year-old Maria Iman, who traveled to Washington with fellow high school students from Illinois. “It feels amazing.”
“He’s a narcissist and seeks approval, and this is a big display of disapproval,” Tanya Gaxiola, who flew in from Tucson, Arizona said. “Hopefully, it catches his attention.”
“We can whimper. We can whine. Or we can fight back!” Democratic Sen. Elizabeth Warren said with a loud roar in Boston.
Celebrities Scarlett Johansson and Michael Moore were among the speakers on the Washington protest stage, however, it was pop icon Madonna who delivered an expletive-laden indictment of “The Donald.”
“Welcome to the revolution of love,” the 58-year-old singer said while wearing her own black pussyhat. “To the rebellion. To our refusal as women to accept this new age of tyranny.”
The march participants weren’t exclusively female. Women, men, teens, pensioners, parents with toddlers on their shoulders all clogged the streets around the National Mall for hours before flowing towards the White House in a determined show of unity.
“Women won’t back down,” “Women’s rights are human rights” and “Thank you Trump — you turned me into an activist,” read several of the thousands of handmade signs seen during the demonstrations.
Interestingly, the Women’s March began with a simple Facebook post from Hawaii grandmother and retired lawyer Teresa Shook, who initially asked about 40 of her friends to “do something” once Trump took office. However, word traveled quickly and the event eventually took on a global life of its own.
If Friday was Trump’s day, Saturday most certainly belonged to the Women’s March.
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The truth is my praise for the Women's March (and it was quite the showing of *Female-and Male- Unity") is tempered by a few very pressing questions I have concerning the organizers and participants. Beginning with: Where, pray tell, was this kind of organized push-back against Trump and Trump's America BEFORE the election?! Also, in light of the fact that (1) the majority of marches were White women and (2) Trump reportedly won the White Women's vote – I"d sure like to know if the majority of women who marched actually voted? And of those who voted, which presidential candidate did the majority of female marchers vote for? The Women's March (nationally and globally) was impressive. But unless there a serious commitment to organized follow-up, showing sustained resistance to Trump and his mucked up vision for governing this country…well, then the March will likely be viewed as little more than… Read more »