Women’s March on Washington becomes historic event

Lily Colburn, Business Manager

What began as a simple post on Facebook transformed into a multifaceted, worldwide protest involving millions of people.

From Washington D.C. to London to Antarctica, women and men young and old stood together “for the protection of…rights…safety…health…and families,” according to the Women’s March on Washington mission and vision statement.

USA Today kept a running tally of marches over the world and reported estimates of over two million people–one million across the United States alone–marching in relation to the March on Washington.

The March was not only for women’s reproductive rights but for equality for all people. The March’s official website has eight unity principles ranging from immigration and LGBTQ rights to environmental justice.

Early on in the planning process, the March came under scrutiny for not being inclusive of all women, specifically on the issue of race. However organizers quickly adapted, bringing on more diverse women to better represent and work on the problems facing all women and people, not just white women.

National co-chairs Tamika D. Mallory, Carmen Perez, Linda Sarsour and Bob Bland advocated, promoted and shaped the movement. Their efforts were focused in D.C., but they also created a platform that easily allowed for “sister marches” to occur. Globally, 643 of these sister marches were held with attendance estimates reaching five million. Kansas City, Topeka and Wichita all held organized sister marches with over 3,000 people attending each march.

Though, the March’s purpose was to stand in support of groups who are often overlooked, many saw as a “counter inauguration,” standing in direct opposition to what Trump said on the campaign trail. The day of the March, high-profile speakers and hundreds of thousands of people, many with signs in their hands and pink hats on their heads, took to Pennsylvania Avenue in D.C. to stand up in opposition to the new president, Donald Trump.

 

Now that the March is over, the biggest question is whether any real policy change or action will come from it. The March’s chairs and committee has launched a new campaign “10 actions for the first 100 days” in an effort to give ideas give energized protesters ten ways to get involved in their communities to create change in the first 100 days of Trump’s presidency.