On January 21, the day after inauguration, I attended the Women’s March in Washington, D.C. I travelled on a bus from Toronto with 54 other Americans, and as we travelled through the night, all along the way, we saw buses filled with women from across the USA, on their way to the march.
When we got to the subway station, we saw people lined up all along the platform, up the stairs and filling the subway cars, all on their way to the march.
At the subway station, women were giving away pink pussy hats to women who passed by. I was given a hat hand-made by a woman in Maine. We knew this march was going to be huge!
We started walking from Eastern Market at 10:30 a.m., and after we passed the Library of Congress, we heard that the police estimated there were 750,000 people already on the march.
As far as I could see, behind me and in front of me, Independence Avenue filled with people. It felt celebratory even though we were angry at the new government’s plans.
Once we had walked a few blocks, we were unable to move because the crowd was so dense. The side streets and Independence Avenue were overflowing with a rainbow of people - women, children and men of all ages. I hardly saw any police all day long.
We were trying to reach the rally at Independence Avenue and 3rd Street to hear the speakers, among whom was Sr. Simone Campbell, Executive Director of NETWORK Lobby. Here is a link to her speech: http://globalsistersreport.org/blog/equality/live-blog-womens-marches-around-world-44556
We couldn’t get close enough, but we heard some speakers through the loudspeakers, among them six-year old Sophie Cruz, an immigration activist, and Erika Andiola an undocumented Mexican American activist.
At 3:00, the crowds were able to start moving slowly near the National Mall. People spread out in all directions through the streets of downtown Washington, in the direction of the White House. We made it to the National Archives before we had to leave at 5:00 to catch the bus back to Canada.
Only the Guardian newspaper has reported the numbers on the Women’s March in Washington accurately – one million! And that day, there were 673 marches world-wide with 4,876,700 marchers at last count. No arrests – peaceful marches of millions.
Why did I march? Because I will not be silent in the face of a newly elected government that wants to trample human rights. I will not stand by while the most vulnerable among us face real and imminent harm to their well-being and dignity. I will not accept continued reliance on fossil fuels as our planet gasps for breath. I marched because the Trump government opposes all I hold dear – civil liberties, human rights, compassion and true Christian values. I was heartened to see on January 21, that millions of others care too, and refused to be silent.
I went to Washington with other Americans, who like myself, are members of Democrats Abroad. We went because we felt shame and anger at what happened in the November election, and because, even though we live outside the US, we still feel pride in our country of birth. We know one march will not solve everything, and that there is much work ahead of us, but we know we are united in this work.
Mary Kosta
Archivist
Sisters of St. Joseph in Canada