Several artists brought puppets of women leaders throughout history — Rosa Parks, Malala Yousafzai, Marie Curie and Dolores Huerta — to the Seattle’s Women’s March 2.0 on Saturday. (Photo by Ester Ouli Kim)
Thousands of people marched this weekend in Seattle’s Women’s March 2.0, the second nationally coordinated women-centered march since the election of President Donald Trump. According to the official Facebook event, 26,000 people attended and 43,000 people marked interest in attending.
Marchers held signs in support of women’s rights, LGBTQ issues, supporting immigrants and people of color and more. The crowd started at Cal Anderson Park in Capitol Hill and marched to the Seattle Center.
Andrea Robinson and her niece Audrey Snedecor, 16, marched, holding up two signs they picked up at a couple tables before the march started.
Snedecor said it was her first time ever participating in a march.
“Seeing all the people uniting together, I really wanted to be a part of that,” Snedecor said. “And I wanted to help fight for things, fight for basic human rights for everyone and just for the world in general.”
Snedecor’s mom also wanted to come but couldn’t because of work.
Volunteers, including artist Norma Baum, brought puppets portraying powerful women. The women included Rosa Parks, Malala Yousafzai, Marie Curie and Dolores Huerta.
“They’re to empower people,” Baum said about the puppets. “About very humble people who were faced with incredible odds and they took, they just did the right thing.”
The Seattle march was one of many nationwide that took place Saturday. On Sunday, dozens of organizations throughout the Seattle area also participated in a related day of action, which offered a variety of workshops and events.
Andrea Robinson (background) marches behind her niece Audrey Snedecor, 16, at Seattle’s Women’s March 2.0 on Saturday. It was Snedecor’s first march. (Photo by Ester Ouli Kim.)Thousands of people marched from Cal Anderson Park in Capitol Hill to Seattle Center in support of women’s rights, LGBTQ issues and more. (Photo by Ester Ouli Kim)People carried signs in multiple languages and showed support for a variety of issues. (Photo by Ester Ouli Kim)There were signs about feminism, abortion rights, #metoo, Black Lives Matter, Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, religion and more. (Photo by Ester Ouli Kim)The occasional megaphone could be heard in the distance and a drum line marched with the crowd. The energy ebbed and flowed and waves of cheers cycled through the march. (Photo by Ester Ouli Kim.)The march was estimated to end around 3 p.m. at Seattle Center. Businesses remained open even as the streets were blocked off. (Photo by Ester Ouli Kim.)Some of the signs called for the impeachment of President Trump. At the same time, men and women in superhero costumes, including Wonder Woman, marched in the streets as well. “It is our sacred duty to defend the world,” one sign said, quoting Wonder Woman. (Photo by Ester Ouli Kim.)The large puppets of women leaders were a team effort. One person would carry the head, and two more volunteers would stretch out the banners below. From left to right, the puppets are of Aung San Suu Kyi, Rosa Parks, Marie Curie and Rigoberta Menchú. (Photo by Ester Ouli Kim.)Many marchers in the crowd expressed their anger and held up signs saying they were “mad as hell” and “still pissed.” (Photo by Ester Ouli Kim.)There is no age requirement to hold a sign in the Women’s March. Many parents brought their children in hand — and on many occasions on top of their shoulders. (Photo by Ester Ouli Kim.)People fighting for science and the environment made speeches before the march. Some at the march criticized Trump’s move to drop out of the Paris Accord. (Photo by Ester Ouli Kim.)At the corner of Pine Street and 4th Avenue, two strangers high five as they pass each other on the streets of the march. (Photo by Ester Ouli Kim.)People held up a large blow-up globe towards the end of the march, among marchers holding signs calling for abortion rights, ending workplace harassment, #metoo and a Martin Luther King Jr. quote. (Photo by Ester Ouli Kim.)People in the crowd didn’t know there would be another march after last year and they don’t know if there will be one again in 2019. Before the start of this year’s march, State Sen. Manka Dhingra (D-Redmond) quoted Martin Luther King Jr. who once said, “If you can’t fly then run, if you can’t run then walk, if you can’t walk then crawl, but whatever you do you have to keep moving forward.” (Photo by Ester Ouli Kim.)
Great first story! I wasn’t able to make it the March but these photos are cool in encompassing all the different rights that were being fought for!