By Brendan Scanland
WASHINGTON, D.C. — According to organizers, roughly 50,000 thousand people descended on the nation’s capital to participate in the “People’s March.” Many of them traveled from across the country to attend.
The women’s and civil rights march comes less than 48 hours before President-elect Donald Trump is sworn into office as the 47th President of the United States. Organizers say, with President-elect Trump soon taking back the oval office, they’re mobilizing their collective power to stand against efforts to roll back their rights and freedoms.
Saturday afternoon, thousands of people from all walks of life converged on the Lincoln Memorial to make their voices heard. The rally at the memorial came after several individual rallies at various locations across the District of Columbia.
“It was about 6 hours. We left at 4:00 this morning,” said Valerie Fields, who made the drive from Wilmington, NC. “Just wanted to come up and be part of the festivities and kind of support the various organizations and kind of fight against the incoming administration,” she added.
Others, like Beth Marcotti traveled more than 1,000 miles to attend the event.
“To fight for women’s rights that we fought so hard for,” said Marcotti, who made the trip from Breckenridge, CO. “I feel empowered to be here. I feel good about being here. And there’s a lot of like-minded people here, that’s been a very encouraging.”
The march, organized by a diverse coalition of groups, saw a diverse crowd, including former Trump supporters.
“In 2016, I actually voted for President Trump,” said Ian Appling, adding that a turn of events and a change in ideology brought him to come stand in solidarity. “Being a man, I want to be an ally here for not only just women, but trans women and the LGBTQ community as well. We’re here to be here in support of, in defense of their rights,” he added.
With President-elect Trump taking office again in less than two days, some are concerned about what’s in store for the next four years.
“On a scale of one-to-ten, it’s at a ten as far as being dangerous and a threat to democracy,” said Laura Cooper, an attendee from Richmond, VA.
But Cooper says she’s also determined to continue fighting and marching.
“I think if we don’t keep raising our voices, you know, that’s who knows what they’re going to do.”
This is just one of multiple events taking place in Washington ahead of President-elect Donald Trump’s inauguration. Tomorrow evening, Trump’s team will be holding a victory rally at the Capital One Arena.
