Throughout the United States and around the world, demonstrators turned out in droves for the today’s Women’s March. Today’s march falls 2 years after the Women’s March in 2017, when an estimated 3 million protesters took to the streets the day after the inauguration of President Trump, calling for respect for women, immigrants, LGBTQ people, and POC. This year’s march takes place only weeks after record numbers of women were sworn into Congress after a historic midterm election.
In Washington D.C., thousands of marchers walked down Pennsylvania Avenue with signs and banners. Speakers at the main event included Roslyn Broc, Chairman of the NAACP Board of Directors; Ilyasah Shabazz, Malcolm X’s Daughter and the trustee of the Malcom X & Dr. Betty Shabazz Memorial and Education Center; and Raquel Willis from the Transgender Law Center. Sister marches happened as planned all throughout the country, including in New York, San Francisco, Dallas, Portland, Philadelphia, and Seneca Falls, N.Y. The different marches emphasized varying local issues. For example, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, the newly elected New York Congresswomen spoke at the New York march. In Pennsylvania, a survivor of abuse by a priest spoke.
This year’s marches were smaller than in previous years, likely due in part to political changes and controversy with the movement, including allegations of anti-semitism. Because of the controversy, the Democratic National Committee and the National Organization for Women both dropped their sponsorship of the march. In November, Linda Sarsour, one of the organizers of the march issued a statement saying, “It’s become clear, amidst this media storm, that our values and our message have — too often — been lost. That loss caused lot of harm, and a lot of pain. We should have been faster and clearer in helping people understand our values and our commitment to fighting anti-Semitism. We regret that.”
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