More than a million people took to the streets of cities across the country Saturday to protest President Donald Trump on his first full day in office. Demonstrators at the events, which were billed as Women’s Marches, criticized the president’s policy agenda and his attacks on women and minorities. Many of the marchers pledged to use the rallies as a springboard to get involved in local politics.
“This is the first election in which I’ve become politically involved,” said Olivia Lezcano, 20, from Cleveland. “So I’m considering getting involved with my local congressman and local municipal government.”
The flagship event in Washington, DC, overwhelmed the city’s train system, as event organizers were swamped with more than double the 200,000 people they expected. People packed Independence Avenue in downtown DC, which runs along the National Mall, eventually clogging the planned march route, according to the Associated Press, and likely surpassing the turnout for Trump’s inauguration on Friday. Large numbers of marchers also came out in Denver, New York City, Boston, Chicago, Los Angeles, Atlanta, Miami, and dozens of other cities around the United States and abroad.
We asked a range of the marchers in DC what they were committing to do over the next four years. You can check out their answers in the video above.
We have a new comment system! We are now using Coral, from Vox Media, for comments on all new articles. We'd love your feedback.