From Washington D.C. to Los Angeles, thousands of people marched for women’s rights as a whole. In Lawrence, KS, hundreds marched down the sidewalks of Massachusetts Street chanting things such as “Rise up, Time’s Up” and “This is what democracy looks like.” For senior and student council executive president Carolyn Dickey, this march is a way for all women to come together under one cause.
“Even one year later, the march has made as big of an impact for me as it did last year,” Dickey said. “I’m not alone. None of us are alone.”
Last year, Jan. 20, 2017, thousands of women and men alike gathered in Washington D.C. to protest President Donald Trump’s inauguration as well as advocate for women’s rights. Infamous pink hats emerged from the march and were worn all across the country during the women’s marches this year.
The echoing message of every march across the nation, as seen on social media, is to keep marching. With this being the second year the Women’s March has taken place, some are comparing these marches to past women’s suffrage movements. The #StillMarching trend emerged this year as a motivator to continue the protests. President Trump tweeted to encourage women to march Jan. 20 to celebrate the lowest unemployment rate among women in 18 years. However, many women were marching despite President Trump, not because of him.
The hundreds of women’s marches around the country add to the list of recent movements for equal rights of women such as the Time’s Up movement that launched at the first of the year. As more sexual assault allegations reach frontline news and national coverage, such as allegations against Missouri Governor Eric Greitens and former Olympic doctor Larry Nassar, more women and men are being urged to share their stories to end sexual abuse. One in six women are sexually assaulted in their lifetime and 310 out of every 1,000 sexual assault cases are reported to police, according to RAINN.org.