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The Women's March was a worldwide protest on January 21, 2017, the day after the inauguration of
Donald Trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who served as the 45th president of the United States from 2017 to 2021. Trump graduated from the Wharton School of the University of ...
as US president. It was prompted by Trump's policy positions and rhetoric, which protesters called
misogynistic Misogyny () is hatred of, contempt for, or prejudice against women. It is a form of sexism that is used to keep women at a lower social status than men, thus maintaining the societal roles of patriarchy. Misogyny has been widely practiced f ...
or otherwise threatening to the
rights of women Women's rights are the rights and entitlements claimed for women and girls worldwide. They formed the basis for the women's rights movement in the 19th century and the feminist movements during the 20th and 21st centuries. In some countries, ...
. It was the largest single-day protest in U.S. history. The goal of the annual marches is to advocate legislation and policies regarding human rights and other issues, including
women's rights Women's rights are the rights and entitlements claimed for women and girls worldwide. They formed the basis for the women's rights movement in the 19th century and the feminist movements during the 20th and 21st centuries. In some countr ...
, immigration reform, healthcare reform, disability justice,
reproductive rights Reproductive rights are legal rights and freedoms relating to human reproduction, reproduction and reproductive health that vary amongst countries around the world. The World Health Organization defines reproductive rights as follows: Reproduct ...
, the environment,
LGBTQ rights Rights affecting lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people vary greatly by country or jurisdiction—encompassing everything from the legal recognition of same-sex marriage to the death penalty for homosexuality. Notably, , ...
,
racial equality Racial equality is a situation in which people of all races and ethnicities are treated in an egalitarian/equal manner. Racial equality occurs when institutions give individuals legal, moral, and political rights. In present-day Western society ...
, freedom of religion, workers' rights and tolerance. According to organizers, the goal was to "send a bold message to our new administration on their first day in office, and to the world that women's rights are human rights". The main protest was in
Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...
, and is known as the Women's March on Washington with many other marches taking place worldwide. The Washington March was streamed live on
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,
Facebook Facebook is an online social media and social networking service owned by American company Meta Platforms. Founded in 2004 by Mark Zuckerberg with fellow Harvard College students and roommates Eduardo Saverin, Andrew McCollum, Dustin ...
, and
Twitter Twitter is an online social media and social networking service owned and operated by American company Twitter, Inc., on which users post and interact with 280-character-long messages known as "tweets". Registered users can post, like, and ...
. The Washington March drew over 470,000 people. Between 3,267,134 and 5,246,670 people participated in the marches in the U.S., approximately 1.0 to 1.6 percent of the U.S. population. Worldwide participation has been estimated at over seven million. At least 408 marches were reported to have been planned in the U.S. and 168 in 81 other countries. After the marches, organizers reported that around 673 marches took place worldwide, on all seven continents, 29 in Canada, 20 in Mexico, and 1 in
Antarctica Antarctica () is Earth's southernmost and least-populated continent. Situated almost entirely south of the Antarctic Circle and surrounded by the Southern Ocean, it contains the geographic South Pole. Antarctica is the fifth-largest co ...
. The crowds were peaceful: no arrests were made in D.C., Chicago, Los Angeles, New York City, or Seattle, where a combined total of about two million people marched. The organization's website states that they wanted to adhere to "the nonviolent ideology of the Civil Rights movement". Following the march, the organizers of the Women's March on Washington posted the "10 Actions for the first 100 Days" campaign for joint activism to keep up momentum from the march.


Background


Organizers

On November 9, 2016, the first day after
Donald Trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who served as the 45th president of the United States from 2017 to 2021. Trump graduated from the Wharton School of the University of ...
was elected
President of the United States The president of the United States (POTUS) is the head of state and head of government of the United States of America. The president directs the Federal government of the United States#Executive branch, executive branch of the Federal gove ...
, in reaction to Trump's election campaign and political views, and to his defeat of presidential nominee
Hillary Clinton Hillary Diane Rodham Clinton ( Rodham; born October 26, 1947) is an American politician, diplomat, and former lawyer who served as the 67th United States Secretary of State for President Barack Obama from 2009 to 2013, as a United States senat ...
, Teresa Shook of
Hawaii Hawaii ( ; haw, Hawaii or ) is a state in the Western United States, located in the Pacific Ocean about from the U.S. mainland. It is the only U.S. state outside North America, the only state that is an archipelago, and the only ...
created a
Facebook Facebook is an online social media and social networking service owned by American company Meta Platforms. Founded in 2004 by Mark Zuckerberg with fellow Harvard College students and roommates Eduardo Saverin, Andrew McCollum, Dustin ...
event and invited friends to march on Washington in protest. Similar Facebook pages created by Evvie Harmon, Fontaine Pearson, Bob Bland (a New York fashion designer), Breanne Butler, and others quickly led to thousands of women signing up to march. Harmon, Pearson, and Butler decided to unite their efforts and consolidate their pages, beginning the official Women's March on Washington. To ensure that the march was led by women of differing races and backgrounds, Vanessa Wruble, co-founder, and co-president of Okayafrica, served as Head of Campaign Operations and brought on
Tamika D. Mallory Tamika Danielle Mallory (born September 4, 1980) is an American activist. She was one of the leading organizers of the 2017 Women's March, for which she and her three other co-chairs were recognized in the ''TIME'' 100 that year. She received t ...
, Carmen Perez and
Linda Sarsour Linda Sarsour (born 1980) is an American political activist. She was co-chair of the 2017 Women's March, the 2017 Day Without a Woman, and the 2019 Women's March. She is also a former executive director of the Arab American Association of N ...
to serve as National Co-Chairs alongside Bland. Former
Miss New Jersey USA The Miss New Jersey USA competition is the pageant that selects the representative for the state of New Jersey in the Miss USA pageant. It is produced by D&D Productions. New Jersey has yet to win the Miss USA title, although from 1989 to 19 ...
Janaye Ingram Janaye Michelle Ingram is a political organizer from Cherry Hill, New Jersey. Biography Ingram was crowned Miss New Jersey USA 2004 in Jersey City, New Jersey in late 2003. She later represented New Jersey in the Miss USA 2004 pageant held in Lo ...
served as Head of Logistics. Filmmaker
Paola Mendoza Paola Mendoza is a film director, activist, author, and artist. In 2017, she co-founded and served as the artistic director for the 2017 Women's March. Early life Mendoza was born and raised in Bogotá, Colombia. She came to the United States ...
served as artistic director and a National Organizer. During "the first hours of the first meeting for what would become the Women's March," Mallory and Perez allegedly put forward a debunked antisemitic conspiracy theory regarding Jews and the slave trade. No one who was in the room spoke about it for almost two years. Mallory and Bland deny that the offensive content in the conversation took place, but, according to ''
Tablet Magazine ''Tablet'' is an online magazine focused on Jewish news and culture. The magazine was founded in 2009 and is supported by the Nextbook foundation. Its editor-in-chief is Alana Newhouse. History ''Tablet'' was founded in 2009 with the suppo ...
'', "multiple sources with knowledge of what happened confirmed the story." Several journalists who shared the story were emailed by a PR agency which claimed to be able to disprove the article, but would only share their information on condition of journalists keeping it off the record. Andrea González-Ramírez, a journalist from
Refinery29 Refinery29 (R29) is an American multinational digital media and entertainment website focused on young women. It is owned by Vice Media. History Justin Stefano, Philippe von Borries, Piera Gelardi, and Christene Barberich co-founded Refinery29 ...
, claimed to have agreed to the PR firm's request, but the PR firm's fact checking failed to disprove Tablet Magazines claims. According to ''The New York Times'', opposition to and defiance of Trump infused the protests, which were sometimes directly called anti-Trump protests. Organizers stated that they were "not targeting Trump specifically" and that the event was "more about being proactive about women's rights". Sarsour called it "a stand on social justice and human rights issues ranging from race, ethnicity, gender, religion, immigration and healthcare". Wruble stated that "it's about feminism ..But it's about more than that: It's about basic equality for all people."
Planned Parenthood The Planned Parenthood Federation of America, Inc. (PPFA), or simply Planned Parenthood, is a nonprofit organization that provides reproductive health care in the United States and globally. It is a tax-exempt corporation under Internal Reve ...
partnered with the march by providing staff and offering knowledge related to planning a large-scale event. Planned Parenthood president
Cecile Richards Cecile Richards (born July 15, 1957) is an American activist who served as the president of the Planned Parenthood Federation of America and president of the Planned Parenthood Action Fund from 2006 to 2018. In 2010, Richards was elected to the ...
said that the march would "send a strong message to the incoming administration that millions of people across this country are prepared to fight attacks on reproductive healthcare, abortion services and access to Planned Parenthood, hichhopes that n the futuremany of the protesters will mobilize in its defense when Trump and congressional Republicans make their attempt to strip the organization of millions in federal funding". The national organizing director stressed the importance of continuing action at a local level and remaining active after the event.


National co-chairs

Vanessa Wruble, co-founder, brought on Tamika D. Mallory, Carmen Perez and
Linda Sarsour Linda Sarsour (born 1980) is an American political activist. She was co-chair of the 2017 Women's March, the 2017 Day Without a Woman, and the 2019 Women's March. She is also a former executive director of the Arab American Association of N ...
to serve as National Co-Chairs alongside Bob Bland. The four co-chairs were Linda Sarsour, the executive director of the
Arab American Arab Americans ( ar, عَرَبٌ أَمْرِيكِا or ) are Americans of Arab ancestry. Arab Americans trace ancestry to any of the various waves of immigrants of the countries comprising the Arab World. According to the Arab American In ...
Association of New York; Tamika Mallory, a political organizer and former executive director of the
National Action Network The National Action Network (NAN) is a not-for-profit, civil rights organization founded by the Reverend Al Sharpton in New York City, New York, in early 1991. In a 2016 profile, '' Vanity Fair'' called Sharpton "arguably the country's most infl ...
; Carmen Perez, an executive director of the political action group The Gathering for Justice; and Bob Bland, a fashion designer who focuses on ethical manufacturing.
Gloria Steinem Gloria Marie Steinem (; born March 25, 1934) is an American journalist and social-political activist who emerged as a nationally recognized leader of second-wave feminism in the United States in the late 1960s and early 1970s. Steinem was a ...
,
Harry Belafonte Harry Belafonte (born Harold George Bellanfanti Jr.; March 1, 1927) is an American singer, activist, and actor. As arguably the most successful Jamaican-American pop star, he popularized the Trinbagonian Caribbean musical style with an internat ...
,
LaDonna Harris LaDonna Vita Tabbytite Harris (born February 26, 1931) is a Comanche Native American social activist and politician from Oklahoma.Fluharty, SterlingHarris, LaDonna Vita Tabbytite profile 'mOklahoma Historical Society Encyclopedia of Oklahoma H ...
,
Angela Davis Angela Yvonne Davis (born January 26, 1944) is an American political activist, philosopher, academic, scholar, and author. She is a professor at the University of California, Santa Cruz. A feminist and a Marxist, Davis was a longtime member o ...
and
Dolores Huerta Dolores Clara Fernández Huerta (born April 10, 1930) is an American labor leader and civil rights activist who, with Cesar Chavez, is a co-founder of the National Farmworkers Association, which later merged with the Agricultural Workers Organi ...
served as honorary co-chairs.


International

Seven women coordinated marches outside the U.S. The women were: Brit-Agnes Svaeri, Oslo, Norway; Marissa McTasney, Toronto, Canada; Karen Olson, Geneva, Switzerland; Kerry Haggerty, London, United Kingdom; Rebecca Turnbow, Sydney, Australia; and Breanne Butler and Evvie Harmon in the United States. citing Facebook page used by the organizers in Nairobi, Kenya. The women organized the international marches through social media and had weekly Skype meetings to plot strategy.


Policy platform

On January 12, the march organizers released a policy platform addressing
reproductive rights Reproductive rights are legal rights and freedoms relating to human reproduction, reproduction and reproductive health that vary amongst countries around the world. The World Health Organization defines reproductive rights as follows: Reproduct ...
, immigration reform, healthcare reform, religious discrimination (primarily that against Muslim Americans),
LGBTQ rights Rights affecting lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people vary greatly by country or jurisdiction—encompassing everything from the legal recognition of same-sex marriage to the death penalty for homosexuality. Notably, , ...
, gender and racial inequities (primarily those that favor men and
Non-Hispanic whites Non-Hispanic whites or Non-Latino whites are Americans who are classified as "white", and are not of Hispanic (also known as "Latino") heritage. The United States Census Bureau defines ''white'' to include European Americans, Middle Eastern Am ...
, respectively), workers' rights, and other issues. "Build bridges, not walls" (a reference to Trump's proposals for a border wall) became popular worldwide after the Trump's inaugural address, and was a common refrain throughout the march. The organizers also addressed environmental issues: "We believe that every person and every community in our nation has the right to clean water, clean air, and access to and enjoyment of public lands. We believe that our environment and our climate must be protected and that our land and natural resources cannot be exploited for corporate gain or greed—especially at the risk of public safety and health."


Preparation and planning


Name origin

Originally billed as the "Million Women March," Wruble renamed the event to mirror the
March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom The March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom, also known as simply the March on Washington or The Great March on Washington, was held in Washington, D.C., on August 28, 1963. The purpose of the march was to advocate for the civil and economic rig ...
, the historic civil rights rally on the Mall where
Martin Luther King Jr. Martin Luther King Jr. (born Michael King Jr.; January 15, 1929 – April 4, 1968) was an American Baptist minister and activist, one of the most prominent leaders in the civil rights movement from 1955 until his assassination in 1968 ...
delivered his "I Have a Dream" speech. The rally also paid tribute to the 1997 Million Woman March in
Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...
, in which hundreds of thousands of African American women are said to have participated.


Logistics planning

Because of scheduling conflicts at the Lincoln Memorial, a permit was secured on December 9 to start the march on Independence Avenue at the southwest corner of the Capitol building and continue along the
National Mall The National Mall is a landscaped park near the downtown area of Washington, D.C., the capital city of the United States. It contains and borders a number of museums of the Smithsonian Institution, art galleries, cultural institutions, and va ...
. By January 20, 2017, 222,000 people had RSVP'd as going to the Washington, D.C., march and 251,000 had indicated interest. On January 16, 2017, Fox News reported that authorities were expecting "a crowd of almost 500,000 people", and the permit for the march issued by the
National Park Service The National Park Service (NPS) is an List of federal agencies in the United States, agency of the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government within the United States Department of the Interior, U.S. Department of ...
was revised by the head of D.C.'s Homeland Security department to half a million people—significantly more than the estimated attendance at President
Donald Trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who served as the 45th president of the United States from 2017 to 2021. Trump graduated from the Wharton School of the University of ...
's inauguration ceremony the previous day.


Partnerships

In late December, organizers announced that over 100 organizations would provide assistance during the march and support the event across their social media platforms. By January 18, more than 400 organizations were listed as "partners" on the March's official website.Bernstein, Leandra (January 18, 2017)
More pro-life groups removed as official partners of the Women's March
, KOMO News/
Sinclair Broadcasting Group Sinclair Broadcast Group, Inc. (SBG) is a publicly traded American telecommunications conglomerate that is controlled by the descendants of company founder Julian Sinclair Smith. Headquartered in the Baltimore suburb of Cockeysville, Maryland, t ...
. Retrieved January 18, 2017.
Planned Parenthood The Planned Parenthood Federation of America, Inc. (PPFA), or simply Planned Parenthood, is a nonprofit organization that provides reproductive health care in the United States and globally. It is a tax-exempt corporation under Internal Reve ...
(which has received federal funding since 1970, when President Richard Nixon signed into law the Family Planning Services and Population Research Act) and the
Natural Resources Defense Council The Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) is a United States-based 501(c)(3) non-profit international environmental advocacy group, with its headquarters in New York City and offices in Washington D.C., San Francisco, Los Angeles, Chicago, ...
were listed as the two "premier partners". Other organizations listed as partners included the
AFL–CIO The American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations (AFL–CIO) is the largest federation of unions in the United States. It is made up of 56 national and international unions, together representing more than 12 million ac ...
,
Amnesty International USA Amnesty International USA (AIUSA) is one of many country sections that make up Amnesty International worldwide. Amnesty International is an organization of more than 7 million supporters, activists and volunteers in over 150 countries, with comp ...
, the Mothers of the Movement, the
National Center for Lesbian Rights The National Center for Lesbian Rights (NCLR) is a non-profit, public interest law firm in the United States that advocates for equitable public policies affecting the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) community, provides free legal ...
, the
National Organization for Women The National Organization for Women (NOW) is an American feminist organization. Founded in 1966, it is legally a 501(c)(4) social welfare organization. The organization consists of 550 chapters in all 50 U.S. states and in Washington, D.C. It ...
, MoveOn.org,
Human Rights Watch Human Rights Watch (HRW) is an international non-governmental organization, headquartered in New York City, that conducts research and advocacy on human rights. The group pressures governments, policy makers, companies, and individual human ...
,
Code Pink Code Pink: Women for Peace (often stylized as CODEPINK) is a left-wing internationally active non-governmental organization that describes itself as a "grassroots peace and social justice movement working to end U.S.-funded wars and occupations, ...
, Black Girls Rock!, the
NAACP The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) is a civil rights organization in the United States, formed in 1909 as an interracial endeavor to advance justice for African Americans by a group including W. E.&nb ...
, the
American Indian Movement The American Indian Movement (AIM) is a Native American grassroots movement which was founded in Minneapolis, Minnesota in July 1968, initially centered in urban areas in order to address systemic issues of poverty, discrimination, and police br ...
,
Emily's List EMILY's List is an American political action committee (PAC) that aims to help elect Democratic female candidates in favor of abortion rights to office. It was founded by Ellen Malcolm in 1985. The group's name is an acronym for "Early Money ...
,
Oxfam Oxfam is a British-founded confederation of 21 independent charitable organizations focusing on the alleviation of global poverty, founded in 1942 and led by Oxfam International. History Founded at 17 Broad Street, Oxford, as the Oxford Co ...
,
Greenpeace USA Greenpeace USA is the United States affiliate of Greenpeace International, an environmental nonprofit organization that spawned a social movement inspired by direct actions on the high seas to stop whaling and nuclear testing. Headquartered in Wa ...
, and the League of Women Voters. On January 13, event organizers granted the anti-abortion feminist group
New Wave Feminists Destiny Herndon-De La Rosa (born August 10, 1983) is an American anti-abortion activist. She is the founder of the anti-abortion organization New Wave Feminists. She is also a frequent op-ed contributor for ''The Dallas Morning News''. Personal ...
partnership status. But after the organization's involvement was publicized in ''
The Atlantic ''The Atlantic'' is an American magazine and multi-platform publisher. It features articles in the fields of politics, foreign affairs, business and the economy, culture and the arts, technology, and science. It was founded in 1857 in Boston, ...
'', it was removed from the partners page on the march's website. Other anti-abortion groups that had been granted partnership status, including Abby Johnson's And Then There Were None (ATTWN) and Stanton Healthcare, were subsequently unlisted as partners as well. New Wave Feminists and Johnson still participated in the official march, alongside other anti-abortion groups such as ATTWN, Students for Life of America, and ''Life Matters Journal''.


Participation

While organizers had originally expected over 200,000 people, the march ended up drawing between 440,000 to 500,000 in Washington D.C. The
Washington Metro The Washington Metro (or simply Metro), formally the Metrorail,Google Books search/preview
system had its second-busiest day ever with over a million trips taken, considerably larger than the inauguration day's ridership and second only to the
first inauguration of Barack Obama The first inauguration of Barack Obama as the 44th president of the United States took place on Tuesday, January 20, 2009, at the West Front of the United States Capitol in Washington, D.C. The 56th inauguration, which set a record attendance ...
. ''The New York Times'' reported that crowd-scientists estimate that the Women's March was three times the size of the Trump inauguration, which they estimate at 160,000 attendees. However, ''The Washington Post'' and ''The New York Times'' have stated that it is difficult to accurately calculate crowd size and other estimates of the Trump inauguration range from 250,000 to 600,000 people. An estimated 3,300,000 – 4,600,000 people participated in the United States and up to 5 million did worldwide. Packed cars, buses, airplanes, and trains commuted protesters to the march. The large crowds enabled Washington's Metro to break 1,000,000 passengers for only the second time in its history. The 1,001,613 trips are the second busiest day, the highest counted total (as the highest, from Obama's First Inauguration is only an estimate) and the highest single-day ridership for a weekend day breaking the previous record of 825,437 trips set during the
Rally to Restore Sanity and/or Fear The Rally to Restore Sanity and/or Fear was a gathering that took place on October 30, 2010, at the National Mall in Washington, D.C. The rally was led by Jon Stewart, host of the satirical news program '' The Daily Show'', and Stephen Colber ...
. It was also reported that over 45,000 disabled people in attendance, led by the organizing efforts of disability justice activist Mia Ives-Rublee.


Washington, D.C.


Speakers

The official list of speakers included
America Ferrera America Georgina Ferrera (; born April 18, 1984) is an American actress. Born in Los Angeles to Honduran parents, Ferrera developed an interest in acting at a young age, performing in several stage productions at her school. She made her featur ...
,
Scarlett Johansson Scarlett Ingrid Johansson (; born November 22, 1984) is an American actress. The world's highest-paid actress in 2018 and 2019, she has featured multiple times on the ''Forbes'' Celebrity 100 list. ''Time'' magazine named her one of the 100 ...
, and
Gloria Steinem Gloria Marie Steinem (; born March 25, 1934) is an American journalist and social-political activist who emerged as a nationally recognized leader of second-wave feminism in the United States in the late 1960s and early 1970s. Steinem was a ...
. Other speakers were Sophie Cruz,
Angela Davis Angela Yvonne Davis (born January 26, 1944) is an American political activist, philosopher, academic, scholar, and author. She is a professor at the University of California, Santa Cruz. A feminist and a Marxist, Davis was a longtime member o ...
, and
Michael Moore Michael Francis Moore (born April 23, 1954) is an American filmmaker, author and left-wing activist. His works frequently address the topics of globalization and capitalism. Moore won the 2002 Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature for ...
, as well as
Cecile Richards Cecile Richards (born July 15, 1957) is an American activist who served as the president of the Planned Parenthood Federation of America and president of the Planned Parenthood Action Fund from 2006 to 2018. In 2010, Richards was elected to the ...
, Ilyasah Shabazz,
Janet Mock Janet Mock (born March 10, 1983) is an American writer, television host, director, producer and transgender rights activist. Her debut book, the memoir ''Redefining Realness'', became a ''New York Times'' bestseller. She is a contributing edito ...
,
LaDonna Harris LaDonna Vita Tabbytite Harris (born February 26, 1931) is a Comanche Native American social activist and politician from Oklahoma.Fluharty, SterlingHarris, LaDonna Vita Tabbytite profile 'mOklahoma Historical Society Encyclopedia of Oklahoma H ...
,
Janelle Monáe Janelle Monáe Robinson (; born December 1, 1985) is an American singer, rapper and actress. She is signed to Atlantic Records, as well as to her own imprint, the Wondaland Arts Society. Monáe has received eight Grammy Award nominations. Mon� ...
, Maryum Ali, Rabbi
Sharon Brous Sharon Brous (born 1973) is an American rabbi who currently serves as the senior rabbi of IKAR, a Jewish congregation in Los Angeles. She was one of the founders of IKAR in 2004, along with Melissa Balaban, who currently serves as IKAR's Chief E ...
, Sister Simone Campbell,
Ashley Judd Ashley Judd (born Ashley Tyler Ciminella; April 19, 1968) is an American actress. She grew up in a family of performing artists: she is the daughter of the late country music singer Naomi Judd and the half-sister of country music singer Wynonn ...
,
Melissa Harris-Perry Melissa Victoria Harris-Perry (born October 2, 1973), formerly known as Melissa Victoria Harris-Lacewell, is an American writer, professor, television host, and political commentator with a focus on African-American politics. Harris-Perry hoste ...
,
Randi Weingarten Randi Weingarten (born December 18, 1957)''Who's Who in America'', 2007. is an American labor leader, attorney, and educator. She is president of the American Federation of Teachers (AFT) and a member of the AFL–CIO. She is the former presiden ...
,
Van Jones Anthony Kapel "Van" Jones (born September 20, 1968) is an American news and political commentator, author, and lawyer. He is the co-founder of several non-profit organizations, a three-time ''New York Times'' bestselling author, a CNN host and ...
,
Kristin Rowe-Finkbeiner Kristin Rowe-Finkbeiner is an American author, speaker, radio host, co-founder and the executive director/CEO of MomsRising.org and board president of the MomsRising Education Fund. In May 2006 Joan Blades and Rowe-Finkbeiner co-founded MomsRisin ...
,
Roslyn Brock Roslyn McCallister Brock (born May 30, 1965) is an African-American civil rights leader, healthcare executive, and health activist. She was selected to succeed Julian Bond as chairman of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored Peo ...
, Mayor
Muriel Bowser Muriel Elizabeth Bowser (born August 2, 1972) is an American politician serving since 2015 as the eighth mayor of the District of Columbia. A member of the Democratic Party, she previously represented the 4th ward as a member of the Council ...
, Senators
Tammy Duckworth Ladda Tammy Duckworth (born March 12, 1968) is an American politician and retired Army National Guard lieutenant colonel serving as the junior United States senator from Illinois since 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, she represented ...
(D-IL) and
Kamala Harris Kamala Devi Harris ( ; born October 20, 1964) is an American politician and attorney who is the 49th vice president of the United States. She is the first female vice president and the highest-ranking female official in U.S. history, as well ...
(D-CA),
Donna Hylton Donna Hylton is a Jamaican-American convicted murderer. She was convicted at age 20 of murder in the second degree and two counts of kidnapping in the first degree for her role in the kidnapping, rape, torture, and murder of New York business ...
,
Ai-jen Poo Ai-jen Poo (, ; born 1974) is an American labor activist. She is the president of the National Domestic Workers Alliance. She is also the director of Caring Across Generations, a national coalition of 200 advocacy organizations working to trans ...
, and Raquel Willis. Steinem commented "Our constitution does not begin with 'I, the President.' It begins with, 'We, the People.' I am proud to be one of thousands who have come to Washington to make clear that we will keep working for a democracy in which we are linked as human beings, not ranked by race or gender or class or any other label." Ferrera stated, "If we – the millions of Americans who believe in common decency, in the greater good, in justice for all – if we fall into the trap by separating ourselves by our causes and our labels, then we will weaken our fight and we will lose. But if we commit to what aligns us, if we stand together steadfast and determined, then we stand a chance of saving the soul of our country." Johansson called for long-term change: "Once the heaviness
f the election F, or f, is the sixth letter in the Latin alphabet, used in the modern English alphabet, the alphabets of other western European languages and others worldwide. Its name in English is ''ef'' (pronounced ), and the plural is ''efs''. Hi ...
began to subside, an opportunity has presented itself to make real long-term change, not just for future Americans, but in the way we view our responsibility to get involved with and stay active in our communities. Let this weight not drag you down, but help to get your heels stuck in." The youngest presenter at the Washington D.C. march, 6-year-old Sophie Cruz, said, "Let us fight with love, faith, and courage so that our families will not be destroyed," and ended her speech saying, "I also want to tell the children not to be afraid, because we are not alone. There are still many people that have their hearts filled with love. Let's keep together and fight for the rights. God is with us." Cruz repeated her speech in Spanish.Sophie Cruz speaks at the Woman's March
Alicia Keys Alicia Augello Cook (born January 25, 1981), known professionally as Alicia Keys, is an American singer, songwriter, and pianist. A classically trained pianist, Keys started composing songs when she was 12 and was signed at 15 years old by Colu ...
performed at the rally saying, "We are mothers. We are caregivers. We are artists. We are activists. We are entrepreneurs, doctors, leaders of industry and technology. Our potential is unlimited. We rise."
Angela Davis Angela Yvonne Davis (born January 26, 1944) is an American political activist, philosopher, academic, scholar, and author. She is a professor at the University of California, Santa Cruz. A feminist and a Marxist, Davis was a longtime member o ...
said, "We recognize that we are collective agents of history and that history cannot be deleted like web pages." Maryum Ali also spoke, saying, "Don't get frustrated, get involved. Don't complain, organize."


Other U.S. locations

Across the United States, there were a total of 408 planned marches.


International

Marches occurred worldwide, with 198 in 84 other countries. Organisers of the event reported 673 marches worldwide, including 20 in Mexico and 29 in Canada. Women in India also organized a nationwide march on January 21, 2017, called
I Will Go Out I Will Go Out (or #IWillGoOut) was a nationwide march carried on 21 January 2017 in India to demand women's right to fair and equitable access to public spaces. People marched across 30 cities and towns of India including Bengaluru, Delhi, Pune, ...
to demand access to safe public spaces. It was held in small countries such as Belgium, Costa Rica, Latvia."Look Back, March Forward." Women's March Global, January 21, 2018, http://www.womensmarchglobal.com/look-back-march-forward/ . The movement also took place in countries in Africa, including Kenya, Nigeria, and Tanzania all held marches calling for women to have equal rights, and specifically demanding an end to violence against women.


Participation by well-known people


Political figures

U.S. Senator
Cory Booker Cory Anthony Booker (born April 27, 1969) is an American politician and attorney who has served as the junior United States senator from New Jersey since 2013. A member of the Democratic Party, Booker is the first African-American U.S. sen ...
, former
U.S. Secretary of State The United States secretary of state is a member of the executive branch of the federal government of the United States and the head of the U.S. Department of State. The office holder is one of the highest ranking members of the president's Ca ...
John Kerry John Forbes Kerry (born December 11, 1943) is an American attorney, politician and diplomat who currently serves as the first United States special presidential envoy for climate. A member of the Forbes family and the Democratic Party (Unite ...
, and civil rights activist
Jesse Jackson Jesse Louis Jackson ( né Burns; born October 8, 1941) is an American political activist, Baptist minister, and politician. He was a candidate for the Democratic presidential nomination in 1984 and 1988 and served as a shadow U.S. senato ...
attended the Washington march.
Anne-Marie Slaughter Anne-Marie Slaughter (born September 27, 1958) is an American international lawyer, foreign policy analyst, political scientist and public commentator. From 2002 to 2009, she was the Dean of Princeton University's School of Public and Interna ...
, president of New America and former
Director of Policy Planning The Director of Policy Planning is the United States Department of State official in charge of the department's internal think tank, the Policy Planning Staff. In the department, the Director of Policy Planning has a rank equivalent to Assistant ...
at the U.S. State Department, attended the New York City march.
John Lewis John Robert Lewis (February 21, 1940 – July 17, 2020) was an American politician and civil rights activist who served in the United States House of Representatives for from 1987 until his death in 2020. He participated in the 1960 Nashvill ...
attended the Atlanta rally, which saw more than 60,000 march to the
Georgia State Capitol The Georgia State Capitol is an architecturally and historically significant building in Atlanta, Georgia, United States. The building has been named a National Historic Landmark which is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. As ...
. Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont delivered a speech at the march in Montpelier, Vermont, Montpelier in front of the Vermont State House, as did other Vermont political figures, such as former Governor Madeleine Kunin and current Lieutenant Governor David Zuckerman (politician), David Zuckerman. Both Massachusetts Senators Elizabeth Warren and Ed Markey participated in the Boston Women's March, along with Mayor Marty Walsh. Jacinda Ardern, Prime Minister of New Zealand since October 2017, gave a speech after marching in Auckland, New Zealand, Auckland; New Zealand was chronologically the first country in the world to participate in the march.


Additional celebrity participation

In Washington, DC: * Christina Aguilera * Jaimie Alexander * Jane Alexander * Patricia Arquette * Alec Baldwin * Samantha Bee * Chloe Bennet * Melissa Benoist * Tom Bergeron * Mayim Bialik * Jennifer Finney Boylan * Steve Buscemi * Sophia Bush * Mary Chapin Carpenter * Jessica Chastain * Cher * Chris Colfer * Katie Couric * Darren Criss * Jackie Cruz * Rosario Dawson * Lea DeLaria * Adam Dell * Fran Drescher * Lena Dunham * Edie Falco * Sen. Al Franken * Ana Gasteyer * Gina Gershon * Elizabeth Gilbert * Jake Gyllenhaal * Maggie Gyllenhaal * Felicity Huffman * Jidenna *
Scarlett Johansson Scarlett Ingrid Johansson (; born November 22, 1984) is an American actress. The world's highest-paid actress in 2018 and 2019, she has featured multiple times on the ''Forbes'' Celebrity 100 list. ''Time'' magazine named her one of the 100 ...
* Leslie Jones (comedian), Leslie Jones * Joshua Kushner * Padma Lakshmi * Brie Larson * Natasha Lyonne * Macklemore * Madonna * Julianna Margulies * Debi Mazar * Frances McDormand * Rose McGowan * Debra Messing * Chloë Grace Moretz * Kathy Najimy * Lupita Nyong'o * Elliot Page * Katy Perry * Amy Poehler * Patricia Richardson * Tim Robbins * Julia Roberts * Michelle Rodriguez * Samantha Ronson * Paul Rudd * Amy Schumer * Fisher Stevens * Jason Sudeikis * Amber Tamblyn * Chrissy Teigen * Bella Thorne * Marisa Tomei * Katherine Waterston * Emma Watson * Olivia Wilde * Jessica Williams (actress), Jessica Williams * Evan Rachel Wood * Zendaya * Dolph Ziggler In New York City: * Drew Barrymore * Courteney Cox * Robert De Niro * Whoopi Goldberg * Blake Lively * Helen Mirren * Julianne Moore * Cynthia Nixon * Yoko Ono * Rosie Perez * Rihanna * Mark Ruffalo * Taylor Schilling * Al Sharpton * Jenna Ushkowitz * Naomi Watts * Shailene Woodley In Los Angeles: * Fred Armisen * Rosanna Arquette * Lance Bass * Jessica Biel * Rowan Blanchard * Laverne Cox * Jamie Lee Curtis * Miley Cyrus * The Edge * Alfred Enoch * Jack Falahee * Frances Fisher * Jane Fonda * James Franco * Joseph Gordon-Levitt * Ariana Grande * Clark Gregg * Jennifer Grey * Marcia Gay Harden * Vanessa Hudgens * Helen Hunt * Angelica Huston * Josh Hutcherson * Kesha * Aja Naomi King * Zoe Kravitz * Juliette Lewis * Julia Louis-Dreyfus * Demi Lovato * Idina Menzel * Moby * Mandy Moore * Pink (singer), Pink * Natalie Portman * Helen Reddy * Nicole Richie * Gina Rodriguez * Tracee Ellis Ross * Sia * Willow Smith * Regina Spektor * Barbra Streisand * Lily Tomlin * Rufus Wainwright * Kerry Washington * Ming-Na Wen * Alfre Woodard * Bonnie Wright In Park City, Utah: * Dianna Agron * Kevin Bacon * Jennifer Beals * Maria Bello * Benjamin Bratt * Connie Britton * Ty Burrell * Laurie David * Laura Dern * Zoey Deutch * Chelsea Handler * Joshua Jackson * John Legend * Rooney Mara * Mary McCormack * Chris O'Dowd * Tyler Oakley * Nick Offerman * Laura Prepon * Jason Ritter * Jenny Slate * Kristen Stewart * Charlize Theron * Aisha Tyler In London, UK: * Riz Ahmed * Gillian Anderson * Peter Capaldi * Josh Gad * Rebecca Hall (musician), Rebecca Hall * Ian McKellen * Lin-Manuel Miranda * Thandie Newton * John C. Reilly Elsewhere: In San Francisco, performer and activist Joan Baez serenaded the crowd with "We Shall Overcome" in Spanish. Comedian Colin Mochrie and Actress Eliza Dushku attended Boston's march. Singer Carole King was among 30 residents rallying in Stanley, Idaho. Author Stephen King participated in a march in Sarasota, Florida. Author Judy Blume participated in a march in Key West, Florida. Singer Kacey Musgraves and comedian Chris Rock were both present in Nashville, Tennessee. Seth Rogen tweeted video from New Orleans. Actor Julia Sweeney addressed an indoor crowd in her native town of Spokane, Washington. Actor Rami Malek was present in Paris, France.


Messaging and visual imagery


Pussyhat Project

The Pussyhat Project was a nationwide effort initiated by Krista Suh and Jayna Zweiman, a screenwriter and architect located in Los Angeles, to create pussyhats, pink hats to be worn at the march for visual impact. In response to this call, crafters all over the United States began making these hats using patterns provided on the project website for use with either a knitting method, crocheting and even sewing with fabrics. The project's goal was to have one million hats handed out at the Washington March. The hats are made using pink yarns or fabrics and were originally designed to be a positive form of protest for Trump's inauguration by Krista Suh. Suh, from Los Angeles, wanted a hat for the cooler climate in Washington, D. C. and made herself a hat for the protest, realizing the potential: "we could all wear them, make a unified statement". One of the project founders, Jayna Zweiman, stated "I think it's resonating a lot because we're really saying that no matter who you are or where you are, you can be politically active." Suh and Zwieman worked with Kat Coyle, the owner of a local knitting supply shop called The Little Knittery, to come up with the original design. The project launched in November 2016 and quickly became popular on social media with over 100,000 downloads of the pattern to make the hat. The name refers to the resemblance of the top corners of the hats to cat ears and attempts to Reappropriation, reclaim the derogatory term "pussy", a play on Trump's Donald Trump and Billy Bush recording, widely reported 2005 remarks that women would let him "grab them by the pussy". Many of the hats worn by marchers in Washington, D.C., were created by crafters who were unable to attend and wished them to be worn by those who could, to represent their presence. Those hats optionally contained notes from the crafters to the wearers, expressing support. They were distributed by the crafters themselves, by yarn stores at the points of origin, carried to the event by marchers, and also distributed at the destination. The production of the hats caused reported shortages of pink knitting yarn across the United States. On the day of the march, NPR compared the hats to the "Make America Great Again" hats worn by Trump supporters, in that both represented groups that had at one point been politically marginalized; both sent "simultaneously unifying and antagonistic" messages; and both were simple in their messages. Pussyhats were featured later on the fashion fashion runway, runway, and on the covers of ''Time (magazine), Time'' and ''The New Yorker''.


Signage

In Richmond, Virginia, attendees of the March on Washington participated in an "Art of Activism" series of workshops at Studio Two Three, a printmaking studio for artists in Scott's Addition. In Los Angeles, actor Amir Talai was carrying the sign "I'll see you nice white ladies at the next #blacklivesmatter march right?" to express frustration at the lack of participation by white Americans in the Black Lives Matter movement, and simultaneously hopeful of encouraging them to do so. The photo of Talai with the sign went viral over the internet. In January 2020, the National Archives and Records Administration, National Archives acknowledged that it altered photographs of the Women's March on Washington, blurring the word ''Trump'' in a sign that reads, "God Hates Trump" and another that reads, "Trump & GOP — Hands Off Women" as well as other placards that referenced parts of a woman's anatomy. A spokesperson for the National Archives explained that the censorship was designed to avoid politicizing the event and to protect children and young people who might see the signs.


Response


Academics

While the march aims to create a social movement, Marcia Chatelain of Center for Social Justice Research, Teaching, & Service, Georgetown University's Center for Social Justice commented that its success will depend on the marchers' ability to maintain momentum in the following weeks. "One of the goals of any type of march or any type of visible sign of solidarity is to get inspired, to inspire people to do more. And the question is, at the march, what kind of organizational structures or movements will also be present to help people know how to channel their energy for the next day and for the long haul?" Historian Michael Kazin also commented on the importance of a long-term strategy: "All successful movements in American history have both inside and outside strategy. If you're just protesting, and it just stops there, you're not going to get anything done." In the aftermath of the protest, museum curators around the world sought to gather signs and other cultural artifacts of the marches.


Politicians

Many members of the U.S. House of Representatives announced that they would not attend Trump's inauguration ceremony, with the numbers growing after he made disparaging remarks about veteran House member and civil rights leader
John Lewis John Robert Lewis (February 21, 1940 – July 17, 2020) was an American politician and civil rights activist who served in the United States House of Representatives for from 1987 until his death in 2020. He participated in the 1960 Nashvill ...
. Some of them said they would attend the Women's March. Maine Representative Chellie Pingree said she would instead visit a Planned Parenthood center and a business owned by immigrants on Inauguration Day before going to Washington to appear on stage with other politicians who refused to attend. "We need to do everything we can to let the incoming administration know we are not happy about their agenda. I've had unprecedented numbers of my constituents calling me worried about healthcare, the environment, public education, and they feel disrespected," she said. On January 22, 2017, Trump wrote on his personal
Twitter Twitter is an online social media and social networking service owned and operated by American company Twitter, Inc., on which users post and interact with 280-character-long messages known as "tweets". Registered users can post, like, and ...
account: "Watched protests yesterday but was under the impression that we just had an election! Why didn't these people vote? Celebs hurt cause badly." Two hours later, he sent a more placatory tweet: "Peaceful protests are a hallmark of our democracy. Even if I don't always agree, I recognize the rights of people to express their views." A White House official criticized the March for not welcoming United States pro-life movement, abortion rights opponents, and then criticized Madonna's comment that she "thought an awful lot about blowing up the White House". Senator Bernie Sanders, who attended the March in Montpelier, Vermont, said Trump should listen to the protesters: "Listen to the needs of women. Listen to the needs of the immigrant community. Listen to the needs of workers. Listen to what's going on with regards to climate change ... Modify your positions. Let's work together to try to save this planet and protect the middle class."
Hillary Clinton Hillary Diane Rodham Clinton ( Rodham; born October 26, 1947) is an American politician, diplomat, and former lawyer who served as the 67th United States Secretary of State for President Barack Obama from 2009 to 2013, as a United States senat ...
, the 2016 Democratic presidential candidate, offered her support on Twitter, calling the march "awe-inspiring" and stated "[I] hope it brought joy to others as it did to me". Following a tweet that offended other lawmakers and the public, Bill Kintner resigned from his position as Nebraska State Senator. John Carman, a Republican official in South Jersey mocked the Women's March, asking if the protest would "be over in time for them to cook dinner". He lost the next election on November 7, 2017, against a political newcomer, Ashley Bennett. The Friedrich Ebert Foundation, which is associated with the Social Democratic Party of Germany, had planned to give their human rights award to the 2017 Women's March. After a German Jewish organization, however, protested in an open letter, accusing the organizers of antisemitic statements and ties to antisemites, the foundation put the award on ice.


Celebrities

Apart from the celebrities present at the march, others such as Beyoncé and Bruce Springsteen made statements of support for it. The latter, who endorsed Hillary Clinton and is a friend to Barack Obama, gave a speech during a concert in Australia, saying, "The E Street Band is glad to be here in Western Australia. But we're a long way from home, and our hearts and spirits are with the hundreds of thousands of women and men that marched yesterday in every city in America and in Melbourne who rallied against hate and division and in support of tolerance, inclusion, reproductive rights, civil rights, racial justice, LGBTQ rights, the environment, wage equality, gender equality, healthcare, and immigrant rights. We stand with you. We are the new American resistance." Cyndi Lauper commented on Madonna's controversial speech at the Washington march, saying, "Anger is not better than clarity and humanity. That is what opens people's minds. When you want to change people's mind, you have to share your real story." Jon Voight called the march "destructive" and said it was "against the president and against the government". He was particularly critical of Shia LaBeouf and march participant Miley Cyrus, saying "they have a lot of followers" and felt their stances were "teaching treason". Piers Morgan, a friend of Trump's, stated the march was a reaction by women that "a man won" and that "At its core, it was about Trump-hating and resentment that he won and Hillary lost". He also felt that it was democratic to protest, but not due to the result of a democratic election. In response to Morgan's comments about the march, Ewan McGregor canceled his appearance on ''Good Morning Britain (2014 TV programme), Good Morning Britain'', which Morgan was hosting.


Follow-up

Following the march, the organizers of the Women's March on Washington posted the "10 Actions for the first 100 Days" campaign to keep up the momentum from the march. The first action included contacting senators about concerns, with an option of using "Hear Our Voice" postcards. A new action was provided every 10 days. Filmmaker
Michael Moore Michael Francis Moore (born April 23, 1954) is an American filmmaker, author and left-wing activist. His works frequently address the topics of globalization and capitalism. Moore won the 2002 Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature for ...
called for 100 days of resistance, for Trump's first 100 days of his presidency. In July 2017, the Women's March official Twitter feed celebrated the birthday of Assata Shakur, an African-American on the FBI most wanted terrorists list who was convicted of murder, leading to criticism from conservative media outlets. In an August 1, 2017, editorial, Bari Weiss criticized three co-chairs for their association with Louis Farrakhan, and for failing to reject anti-Semitism. In a reply letter, co-chair Bob Bland dismissed critics as "apologists for the status quo, racist ideology and the white nationalist patriarchy". In October 2017, leaders of the decentralized Women's Marches across the country formed a new organization, March On (organization), March On, and launched a Super PAC called March On's Fight Back PAC. Led by Vanessa Wruble, one of the co-founders and chief architects of the Women's March on Washington, March On announced the goal of creating political change through their "March on the Polls" campaign, including marching people to voting booths for the November 2018 midterms for a "March on the Midterms". "March on aims to coordinate actions at the federal, state, and local level. On January 21, 2018, a second 2018 Women's March, Women's March was held, taking place in cities around the world. Demonstrations were also held in 2019 Women's March, 2019, 2020 Women's March, 2020, 2021 Women's March, 2021, and 2022 Women's March, 2022.


Locations

The 2017 Women's Marches took place in many cities around the world since January 21, 2017. File:Womens-march-07881 (32298946482).jpg, Atlanta, Georgia File:Boston Womens March 2017.jpg, Boston, Massachusetts File:Women's March, January 21 2017, Chicago (32066902410).jpg, Chicago, Illinois File:London D7K 7598 (1) (31657365883).jpg, London, England File:Women's March Los Angeles, Januat 21, 2017.jpg, Los Angeles, California File:01-21-2017 - Women's March on NYC (10701).jpg, New York City, New York File:2017.01.21 womensmarchparis 02.jpg, Paris, France File:Womans March Roanoke Virginia.jpg, Roanoke, Virginia File:Women's March 2017-01 (12).jpg,
Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...
File:Womens March Auckland 2017 Queen St.jpg, Auckland, New Zealand


See also

* "Tiny Hands", a song released by Fiona Apple for the march * Donald Trump Access Hollywood tape, Donald Trump ''Access Hollywood'' tape * Women's Sunday, 1908 women's march in London, England to rally for suffrage * Woman Suffrage Procession, a 1913 demonstration in Washington D.C. led by Alice Paul, to rally for suffrage * Women's March (South Africa), to protest the introduction of the Apartheid pass laws in Pretoria, August 9, 1956 * Million Woman March, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, October 25, 1997 * List of protest marches on Washington, D.C.
The Why Are You Marching? project
archived at Smith College'
Sophia Smith Collection of Women's HistoryWomen's March Oral History Project
Stanford Historical Society Oral History Program


Notes


References


Further reading

* *


External links

*
Finding Aid to one of the largest collections of ephemera and posters from marches across California at the Sutro Library San Francisco, CA
{{DEFAULTSORT:Women's March, 2017 2017 in Africa 2017 in American politics 2017 in Asia 2017 in Europe 2017 in North America 2017 in Oceania 2017 in women's history, March 2017 protests Articles containing video clips Foreign relations of the United States Fourth-wave feminism Gatherings of women History of women's rights Inauguration of Donald Trump January 2017 events Protests against Donald Trump Protests against results of elections Reactions to the election of Donald Trump Women's March, 2017 Women's March Women's marches in the United States