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On Saturday, a record number of people in cities like New York, London, Sydney, Tokyo and Toronto poured into the streets to support issues ranging from gender equality to living wages to LGBT rights
Story Transcript
CROWD: (cheering) THOMAS HEDGES: On Saturday, millions of people around the world participated in a day of action and solidarity with the Women’s March on Washington, just one day after Donald Trump was inaugurated as President of the United States. Turnout was expected to be large, but organizers were stunned when hundreds of thousands gathered in the nation’s capital, along with Boston, Denver, Los Angeles, Chicago and New York. In total, an estimated two million people poured into the streets Saturday to advocate for issues such as gender equality and LGBT rights. Although the march wasn’t advertised as a protest but as a celebration of women’s rights, it became a de facto demonstration against Trump’s upcoming presidency, especially against his rhetoric towards women and minorities. ASHLEY JUDD: …Nazis renamed the cabinet electro-conversion therapy, the new gas chambers, shaming the gay out of America, turning rainbows into suicide notes. I am not as nasty as racism, fraud, conflict of interest, homophobia, sexual assault, transphobia, white supremacy, misogyny, ignorance, white privilege! CROWD: (cheering) THOMAS HEDGES: Democratic politicians also took part in the event. Former head of the Democratic National Committee Debbie Wasserman-Schultz spoke to a contingent of participants from Florida before the march. Washington, D.C., Mayor Muriel Bowser, who many have criticized for having a harsh policing agenda, also spoke on the main stage. MURIEL BOWSER: I wanted to be here to let you know that Washington, D.C., has a chick mayor! CROWD: (cheering) THOMAS HEDGES: Other leading Democrats, such as Hillary Clinton loyalists like Massachusetts Senator Elizabeth Warren, New Jersey Senator Cory Booker, Maryland Senator Ben Cardin, along with others, joined marchers. In Los Angeles, where more than half a million people came out to march, celebrities such as Barbra Streisand, Jane Fonda, Natalie Portman, Kerry Washington, Ariana Grande, Demi Lovato, and Jamie Lee Curtis were among those in the massive crowd. In New York, more than 250,000 people marched in midtown Manhattan. Organizers had wanted to congregate outside of Trump Tower, but were stopped by the NYPD just two blocks before arriving. Tens of thousands of people also took to the streets in London, Tokyo, Sydney and other cities around the globe. ————————- END