Same city, different crowds. Just 24 hours after the inauguration of the United States 45 president, some of the largest demonstrations of the decade, perhaps even the century, were held nationwide.
From Los Angeles to New York, and even across the pond to London, men and women came out to show their colors and march.
At the epicenter of it all was our nation’s capital, Washington D.C. An estimated half a million people gathered Jan 21 for what became known as the Women’s March on Washington. I was there, I marched, and I became a part of history.
“Let’s just follow the pink hats,” my friend Lauren said as we piled onto the metro. It was 6 am and me and my two best friends, Alyssa and Lauren were headed into D.C.
Apparently we didn’t get the “pussy hat” memo, because just about every person on the train was donning a variant of the now notorious design. From baby pink to bright fuchsia, men and women on the train sported their pussy hats proudly as they chattered excitedly.
A short metro ride dropped us off in D.C. from which a short walk took us right to the heart of the national mall
The Capitol stood before us in the distance, the Washington Monument behind us, one third shrouded by the morning’s fog.
Despite waking up at the ungodly hour of 4:30 am, I’d never felt more wired. The day had yet to really begin but it seemed that everyone we saw already knew how big of a day this would turn out to be. Quite literally history in the making.
The march events weren’t set to start for a few more hours, so we parked ourselves on a bench halfway between the Capitol and the Washington Monument and settled in for some intense people watching.
The stream of pussy hats was endless, every one of them slightly different from the next.
Then came the signs. This is where the real purpose of the march really became clear to me.
This demonstration was not fueled by angry bra-burning feminists in hopes to impeach the newly sworn in president. Far from that actually. This was an opportunity for people of all walks of life to come together and march for what they believed in.
“Respeta mi existencia o espera resistencia” one sign read. Respect my existence or expect resistance. Groups marched for the rights of immigrants, something that, as we now have seen, have been stripped away.
“Get your filthy laws off my silky drawers,” read one sign decorated with white and pink paint. Women wielded signs to protest against the repeal of the Affordable Care Act, something Trump has already made moves to eliminate.
Men and women marching with little ones held signs expressing concerns about the world their sons and daughters are being forced to grow up in. “History has its eyes on you,” read many signs we encountered throughout the day.
“We the resilient have been here before,” another sign read, picturing a Native American woman with a raised fist. Environmental activists found their place, protesting against the recent controversy over the Dakota Access and Keystone XL pipeline. Trump has since fast tracked construction on both pipelines.
This day in history will not be remembered as an angry hate-fueled protest like ones from years past. This was a day of coming together and putting on a display of strength and unity for the world, and more specifically, Donald Trump, to see.