The newly elected president of the United States, Donald Trump, has stirred several protests across the nation since his inauguration. The “Women’s March” in Raleigh had approximately 17,000 participants. The protest spread across Washington D.C., New York City, Chicago and many other locations across the globe. Overall there were 673 official sister marches to the main march located in D.C. The march occurred Jan. 21, 2017, the day after Trump’s inauguration. Protesters held up expressive signs, shouted chants and marched to try to bring together women of all races and religions.
Many students and teachers at Athens came out to join the Women’s March in Raleigh and claimed that the event uplifted women. Some students and staff were not able to participate in the event supported it from afar. The crowd of men, women, children, and the elderly created a total of over 17,000 that marched through the streets of downtown Raleigh.
“It was really interesting to see that in our own capitol, so many people cooperated to support a great cause,” said Carson Barclay, junior.
The protest included handmade and printed signs, chants, and marching. Many signs had phrases such as “women’s rights are humans rights” and “respect my existence or expect my resistance.” People of all ages held up signs, even some toddlers who wanted to be a part, drew scribbles to show their support.
“It was cool to see things online of kids so young who still want to voice their opinions too,” said Emily Toohey, junior.
Even though some signs were negative towards the president or government, there were also many positive signs. “Make America kind again,” is an example of a positive and satirical sign
“I think there were definitely some people who are angry and held up signs that resembled to that which was more negative, but overall, I think there were more signs about empowerment,” Alicia Hatmaker, history teacher and participant of the women’s march.
With the recent 2016 presidential election, many questions arise for the future. One of them being, how will protests like the women’s march go down as historical events.
“It is rare to see a collection that large to protest a specific political candidates platforms the day after their inaugurated. I think it’s definitely a first…I would love to see if in ten or twenty years if it ends up in the curriculum,” Hatmaker said.
