On Saturday, Jan. 21, one day after the inauguration of President Donald Trump, the largest peaceful protest in the history of the United States took place. In the estimated 408 marches organized throughout the country, out of the 2.9 million Americans marching for women’s rights, LGBTQ rights, immigration reform and other social issues, not a single arrest was made in the marches in Washington and other major U.S. cities, and only 19 arrests were made in Northern California.
Though notable activists like Linda Sasour, Dolores Huerta and Gloria Steinem were the names that made the news, several SHS students participated as well, walking alongside more than 100,000 protesters in the streets of San Francisco.
Junior Surya Murthy first heard about the national movement through social media, but it was her grandmother who told her about the march in San Francisco. Murthy met up with a friend, junior Anaka Negin, along with Murthy’s grandmother and cousin. Armed with posters that said “Raise boys and girls the same way!” and “Phenomenal woman, that’s me!” the group went to San Francisco to participate.
“I wanted to march because I felt the need to stand up and say something with everyone else,” Murthy said. “I know some may have viewed the marchers as a bunch of ‘sore losers,’ but honestly I felt so proud to walk among so many who felt exactly the same way I did.”
Murthy said that she felt that the march was a culmination of centuries of progress toward women’s rights and other social issues. Her grandmother marched to bring awareness for other issues in addition to women’s rights.
“My grandmother marched not only for women but also for immigrants,” Murthy said. “She is a very worldly person and she has so many friends all over the globe, and she was standing up for them as well as for herself and her fellow women.”
Murthy said that although she dislikes Trump, she has accepted that he is now the nation’s president. She believes that by championing for the rights of those whom Trump directly attacked, the march was “the perfect way to send a message to Capitol Hill.”
“Without society speaking up, there will be no change. We must make our voices heard; it's a part of democracy,” Murthy said.
Seniors Amy Chiang and Jessy Liu also headed to the march in San Francisco, along with their friends seniors Karissa Dong and Alisha Luo.
Chiang said that participating in the march, surrounded by fellow advocates, reminded her that there are still tens of millions like-minded people to her who exist in the country.
The march provided a platform for protesters to have a voice and speak against the controversial statements made by Trump and his administration in the past few months, Chiang said.
“We wanted to express that we have power and a voice in this country rather than just letting certain people spread all this bigotry and misinformation,” Chiang said.
Liu said that she marched for gender equality and women’s reproductive rights, but also marched in solidarity with those marching for minority rights, LGBTQ rights and the Black Lives Matter movement.
“I think some people definitely went to the march with the intent to send Trump a message that they won’t stand for his stances and his plans for policy against a lot of the groups that the Women’s March represented,” Liu said. “However, I think that the march should be a message to all of Washington because obviously the government isn’t all about the presidency.”
Liu feels that these demonstrations are especially powerful because they send a message that is visually illustrated by city streets packed with protesters.
“That solidarity is powerful, that the people are speaking, that these demonstrations aren’t tantrums, but a showcase of real democracy,” Liu said. “I guess it was mostly a message that there are millions out there in the states and around the world that won’t stand for the same values that this new administration does.”
Government and Psychology teacher Hana Chen went to the march in San Jose. For Chen, the march was not so much about just sending a message to Washington, but was a movement of solidarity.
“Before you can do things like send messages or take a political stance, you have to have a sense that you’re not alone in the fight,” Chen said.
Chen said being part of a movement at the march was an important first step to making change happen.
“The first step if you would like to see change is to educate yourself, and some of that education comes from feeling a part of a community,” Chen said. “That’s what this march represented.”
