March for Women’s Lives: Three Generations
Three generations, aged 43, 70 and 14 (left to right) traveled from Minneapolis, Minnesota, and Boulder, Colorado, to attend the march together. “My daughter thought it would be a good way to celebrate my 70th birthday,” the grandmother said. “She bought me the plane ticket.” It was the 14-year-old’s first demonstration. “It’s amazing,” she said, “All these people are here for the same reason. It’s great!”
March for Women’s Lives: Penn State Femenists
These students from Penn State marched together with matching shirts and signs. “We’re all taking a 400-level Women’s Studies class,” one of the students said. “When we heard about the march, we just had to come.” Asked what most impressed them about the scene, one student said, “The PEOPLE! Isn’t it just incredible? There is so much energy here!”
March for Women’s Lives: Count Me In
The march was noteworthy for its ethnic, gender and geographic diversity, but Troy Featherson of Washington, D.C., said, “This is great, but I think there is more we can do to bring out African-American men. That’s what I’m interested in doing, along with increasing the number of African-Americans who vote.” Troy is wearing a “Count Me In!” sticker that shows he signed the official tally sheets kept by march organizers.”
March for Women’s Lives: Backpack Buttons
Slogans on shirts, signs and buttons were everywhere in the march. A favorite showed up on this backpack: ‘Feminism is the radical notion that women are people.’
March for Women’s Lives: From Michigan
Char Hanson (left) and Carol Allis traveled from Michigan to march. Why? “There’s a philosophy behind this kind of thing,” Char said. “It’s, first you have to get their attention. With a turnout like this, we’re going to get their attention!” Carol is a lawyer and said a big issue for her is the makeup of the U.S. Supreme Court. “If we’re not careful, we’re going to have a Court that will set the whole nation back, and not just on women’s rights. This march is about that for me.”
March for Women’s Lives: Milwaukee Peer Educators
These young people, aged 15-18, came all the way from Wisconsin to march. They’re peer educators for Planned Parenthood who work to help other teens understand reproductive rights, responsibilities and choices. “We didn’t expect so many people!” exclaimed one. “It’s FANTASTIC that there are so many young people here.” In a later interview, Shani Lizardi, one of the adults traveling with the kids, said, “We are pretty far from the rest of the country up here in Milwaukee, so it was energizing for these young people to see that there are so many people from all over the country, who share their values. It was a great experience for them.”
March for Women’s Lives: Republicans for Choice
“My party has been taken over by intolerance,” said a representative of Republicans For Choice. “I want my party back.”
March for Women’s Lives: The Presbyterian Church
Rev. Elenora Giddings Ivory of the Presbyterian Church’s Washington office (left) welcomed fellow church members for the march, including these three from Washington State. Thousands of people of faith, representing all the major religions, gathered early at the foot of Capitol Hill for an ecumenical service. They ended the service by singing ‘We Are A Gentle, Angry People’ and then marched together into the thick of the demonstration.
March for Women’s Lives: From New York City
Sheila (left) and Sandra traveled from New York with many members of the staff, faculty and students from a private school where they work. “We wanted to come down because, you know, with what is going on all over the world, it is time that people came together,” Sheila said. “We’ve GOT to come together.”
March for Women’s Lives: Pro-Choice Christians
These women were three of the many marchers who made a point of publicly declaring their faith. “People of faith cannot allow the intolerance of a few, who claim God as their own, to decide public policies that influence women’s health and wellbeing,” said one.
March for Women’s Lives: Catholic Mom
This woman, the wife of a military service member, traveled from Virginia Beach, VA, to attend the march. “It’s a very conservative area where I live,” she said, adding that it’s hard to discuss politics with many of her military friends and with other Catholics. “That’s why I wanted to come up here today – because I knew there would be a lot of people like me here. … It turned out there were eight busses that came from the tidewater area. Isn’t that great!?”