Culture

The Women’s March Returns One Year After President Trump’s Inauguration Amid A Government Shutdown

One year after hundreds of thousands of people participated in the 2017 Women’s March in cities across the United States and the world, rallygoers returned to Washington D.C., New York City, Los Angeles, and other major cities and towns to do the same. Organizers utilized websites and social media to plan marches across the country for Saturday, January 20th and Sunday, January 21st to commemorate the first anniversary of the 2017 marches. Adopting the hashtag #PowerToThePolls, participants subsequently gathered to mark one year since President Trump’s inauguration amid Friday night’s government shutdown.

According to Reuters, “Tens of thousands of protesters were expected to take” part in Saturday morning’s marches in major cities like Chicago and Washington D.C. Footage aggregated by CNN from local affiliates in Philadelphia, Charlotte, Denver, and elsewhere revealed already-massive crowds in these and other locations, waiting for their respective marches to begin or participating in rallies that were already in progress. As Women’s March board co-president Tamika Mallory put it to Reuters, “People were pretty damn mad last year and they’re pretty damn mad this year.”

Aside from Trump’s first year in office (and the current government shutdown), Mallory’s comment is further fleshed out by the New York Times‘ note that the Harvey Weinstein revelations and their aftermath are also a major influence:

A deluge of revelations about powerful men abusing women, leading to the #MeToo moment, has galvanized activists to demand deeper social and political change. And in the United States, progressive women are eager to translate their enthusiasm into electoral victories in this year’s midterm elections.


As the various marches in over 250 cities began, participants and the journalists covering them started tweeting stirring pictures and videos from the scenes.

https://twitter.com/Mandiblesat140/status/954765326650167296


Several celebrities who participated in the 2017 marches, including actress Alyssa Milano, returned again with messages of support.

(Via CNN, New York Times and Reuters)