It all started with a Facebook post from a lawyer in Hawaii. Teresa Shook created an event for a march on Washington, D.C. around the inauguration.

By the next day, it had reached over 10,000 people. This past Saturday, over 500,000 people marched in the Women’s March on Washington, D.C., 750,000 marched in Los Angeles, 120,000 marched in Seattle, 250,000 marched in Chicago and 5000 people marched in Lexington. Marches were held in all 50 states and in 75 countries all across the world. An estimated three million people marched all across the United States, setting a record for the largest inaugural protest in the history of the United States.

According to the official Women’s March website, there are eight uniting principles for the march: ending violence, reproductive rights, LGBTQIA rights, worker’s rights, civil rights, disability rights, immigrant rights and environmental justice. The march was not protesting a Trump presidency, or even the Trump’s legitimacy, but was in fact making a statement about what Trump’s presidency stands for. President Trump brags about sexual assault, wants to implement a registry for Muslims, has said Mexicans are “rapists” and “criminals,” has mocked a disabled reporter and is against LGBTQ protections. The march made a statement to Trump and his administration, that women’s rights, Muslim’s rights, disabled individuals’ rights, the LGBTQ community’s rights, etc. are not up for grabs.

However, the march was not all about Trump. One of the co-chairs of the march, Carmen Perez, told the Huffington Post, “Women from all walks of life coming together­, that’s what resistance looks like. And challenging the racist system in this country, that goes beyond Trump.”

One of the most important things the march stressed was that it should not be a one-time thing. Marches and protests should continue to happen on national and local levels for people to continue to stand for justice and the rights of marginalized groups.

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