On Friday, January 20th, our president-elect, Donald Trump, was officially inaugurated as the 45th president of the United States. A couple months ago, America watched in shock as he overtook Hillary Clinton in electoral votes, despite Clinton leading the majority by almost 3 million votes. Trump, famous and often praised for "speaking his mind", has had his fair share of controversy during his presidential campaign. From Alicia Machado's emotional account of working with Trump after she won the Miss Universe pageant in 1996 to various displays of blatantly sexist and racist statements during his speeches and interviews, many Americans have become worried about who is representing them.
The day after the inauguration was just another ordinary day, until around 10 AM, when the crowds started to pour onto Independence Avenue in Washington D.C. Women, men, children alike marched and chanted to show their support for women all over America. The website for the march declared "The Women's March on Washington will send a bold message to our new government on their first day in office, and to the world that women's rights are human rights,".
Since Donald Trump's election, various protests have taken place all over America, many violent and reckless; however, The Women's March aimed to stop that trend by setting 5 different guidelines on their website, all pertaining to maintaining a peaceful protest, stating that nonviolence is the only way to effectively confront forces of injustice.
Needless to say, the march was a success. Not only did it bring in thousands of protesters in the nation's capital alone; it also inspired similar protests in all 50 states and even cities in other countries like Sydney, Berlin, London, and countless others. Not only did it call for women's rights, but minorities' rights, LGBTQIA's rights and any group that people felt Trump has demeaned during his rise to political power.
As more and more marchers showed up to protest all over the world, the future became a little brighter for everyone out on the streets. Millions of posters with powerful messages lined the roads, one reading "Here's to strong women. May we know them. May we be them. May we raise them."
