March of Millions Volume CXI, Issue 7
The student news publication of Walnut Hills High School
Friday, January 27, 2017
People around the world come together for human rights
Many people who gathered in Cincinnati to march (pictured directly above) made signs that mirrored their beliefs and opinions. Princess Leia was a subject potrayed in many signs, with the word ‘resistance’ used frequently. Pink hats were common at the D.C. march (top image.) Grace Berding, ‘19 On Jan. 21, just one day after the inauguration of President Donald Trump, over half a million people gathered in Washington D.C. to march for the advocacy of women’s rights, among other human rights. The march had been planned since the election results were announced. According to crowd scientists Marcel Altenburg and Keith Still, the women’s march in D.C. had roughly three times the amount of people Donald Trump’s inauguration had. Though Trump has denied claims
of the Women’s March outnumbering the inauguration, he appears to be respecting the march. After the march in D.C., Trump tweeted, “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.” Celebrities like Katy Perry, Zendaya, Alicia Keys, Rowan Blanchard and many others were involved with the protests and marched in D.C.. Prior to the march, Janelle Monae sang “Hell You Talmbout”. Others have donated to the cause, or participated
in one of the many sister marches happening across the globe. Locally, citizens gathered in Washington Park as Cincinnati hosted a local sister march. Thousands of people gathered in the park to hear various speakers, like Vice Mayor David Mann and Cincinnati City Council member Yvette Simpson, before embarking on a mile-long march to Cincinnati City Hall and back. Cincinnati was not alone, as hundreds of sister marches took place in cities across the United States such as New York, Boston and Los
Angeles and countries around the world. “It was so amazing to be a part of something so huge. I didn’t feel lost in the crowd at all,” Olivia Smith, ‘19, said. Smith was part of the march in Washington Park. “Everyone was there for the same purpose, men and women,” Smith said. “To me, it was just so cool that many people from all different backgrounds could come together for the same purpose. It was very moving.” Along with marches around the U.S., international marches spurred in cities such as London,
Paris, Berlin, Amsterdam and more. Women in Antarctica even took the chance to participate. The marches were estimated to have gathered over 3.3 million people nationwide. With all of the marches combined, the women’s march is considered to be the largest march in American history. According to Vox, compared to other marches in history -- specifically in D.C. -- the Anti-Vietnam March in 1969 had at least 600,000 participants and, in 1995, the Million Man March had anywhere from 600,000 to 1 million people.