Dear Commons Community,
As a protest to President Donald Trump, millions of people around the world took part in Sister Marches in Washington, D.C., New York City, Chicago, Denver, Los Angeles, and as far away as Tokyo, Sidney, and London. As reported by Reuters:
“Women took to the streets in unexpectedly large numbers in major U.S. cities on Saturday in mass protests against U.S. President Donald Trump, in an early indication of the strong opposition the newly inaugurated Republican may face in office.
Hundreds of thousands of women – many wearing pink knit hats to evoke comments by Trump that triggered outrage among many – filled long stretches of downtown Washington around the White House and National Mall. Hundreds of thousands more women thronged New York, Los Angeles, Chicago and Boston to rebuke Trump on his first full day in office.
Trump has angered many liberal Americans with comments seen as demeaning to women, Mexicans and Muslims. He worried some abroad with his inaugural vow on Friday to put “America first” in his decision-making.
Around the world, women marched in sympathy and shared outrage in hundreds of cities, drawing a total turnout that organizers estimated at more than 4 million.
The Women’s March on Washington appeared to be larger than the crowds that turned a day earlier to witness Trump’s swearing-in on the steps of the U.S. Capitol. No official estimates of the crowd size were available, but the demonstrators appeared to easily exceed the 200,000 organizers had expected.
Sister March organizers estimated drawing 750,000 demonstrators to the streets of Los Angeles, and a planned march in Chicago grew so large that organizers did not attempt to parade through the city but instead staged a rally. Chicago police said more than 125,000 people attended the event.
The protests illustrated the depth of the division in the country, still reeling from the bitterly fought 2016 election campaign. Trump stunned the world by defeating Democrat Hillary Clinton, a former secretary of state and first lady who made history as the first woman nominated for president by a major U.S. political party.
Pam Foyster, a resident of Ridgway, Colorado, said the atmosphere in Washington reminded her of mass protests during the 1960s and ’70s against the Vietnam War and in favor of civil rights and women’s rights.
“I’m 58 years old, and I can’t believe we are having to do this again,” Foyster said.
Although Republicans now control the White House and both houses of Congress, Trump faces entrenched opposition from segments of the public as he takes office, in contrast to the honeymoon period that new presidents typically experience at the outset.
A recent ABC News/Washington Post poll found Trump had the lowest favorability rating of any incoming U.S. president since the 1970s.”
Tony
Chicago
Denver
Los Angeles
New York City
