The Women's March. An empowering and inspirational march. 173 marches took place around the world a week ago. We both marched in separate marches, one in DC and one in New York. This was an inspirational time and day for so many women across our country and the world, we would love to share our perspectives and what we thought of the women's march:
New York March:
I was not able to go to the DC march, so I stayed local and joined in with women and men across NYC to march. It seemed as if every person in the whole city was going. On the train there it was filled to the brim with people with signs. And the whole train car ended up in a conversation about how they thought Trump became president and how to organize. A true NYC moment. As soon has we got off the subway we were swarmed by people from all over the city and the state. With pink pussy hats and some awesome signs, we all started our chants in Grand central station before we could even get outside. And when we got outside we were overwhelmed by everybody that was marching, it was standing room only and the march wasn't even moving. I was very surprised by a number of kids that came to protest as well. Many were with their parents and had made cute signs of their own. We barely moved for all the hours that we stood but that is not to say we had nothing to do. One person would start a chant at the very back and before long the whole place was chanted and screaming with them.
The highlight of that whole day for me came when somebody bumped into me from behind, I turned around. And stared in awe at Chuck Schumer, my NY senator. He then yelled at all the people in the crowd "We're going to win this fight, everybody!" I was amazed and so happy to see him there, with us and also dumbstruck when he shook my hand. The march finally came to a close and it was the most empowering and inspiring day of my life. This day taught me that yes, yes we can.
Washington DC March:
I trailed and led vast numbers of people during my time marching. If you were to squint into the distance, all you would see was the pink of the pussy hats sported by nearly every marcher. Other attire included Nasty Woman shirts and Feminist jackets. Prior to both the rally and the march, hundreds of thousands of people gathered on large, open grounds. Cloth canvases were spread beneath our feet, on which people had signed their names and wrote inspirational messages in sharpies. There was a large blow-up model of Earth, and across it, a banner reading "We are all in this together." Religiously, whooping cheers would spread through the crowds like a human wave would at a stadium. I saw a number of distinct and clever posters that I managed to get pictures of, and we will showcase those below.
The rally—in which organizers and other public figures spoke for several hours—lasted much longer than the marching itself. The audience got so stir-crazy at some points that chants of "We want to march!" would circulate. Guest speakers including Alicia Keyes and Madonna sang respectively Girl on Fire, Express Yourself, and Human Nature. Afterward, we paraded through the streets, chanting a variety of mantras. These included:
"Show me what [Democracy/America] looks like!
"This is what [Democracy/America] looks like!"
"You're orange, you're gross, you lost the popular vote!"
"We want a leader, not a creepy tweeter!"
Upon passing a Trump hotel, boos filled the air. The public responded similarly to banners congratulating and welcoming Trump into his presidency.
The march ended in front of the Washington Monument, and people dispersed from there. But for the rest of the day, clusters of posters lined the sidewalks of public areas.
I am very glad to have taken part in the experience.
What were your experiences? Share them with us!
Thanks, and as always keep tuned for more articles and posts!
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