Thousands join second Women’s March as focus shifts to voting

NEW YORK CITY — Hundreds of thousands gathered around the nation Saturday, wielding signs and sporting pink hats, at Women’s Marches in numerous cities around the U.S. — the second such protest since Donald Trump entered the White House.

The largest marches appeared to take place in Washington D.C., New York City, Chicago and Los Angeles, but groups also amassed in Milwaukee, Denver, Dallas, as well as Montgomery, Alabama, and many other towns and cities all over the country. Some, though not all, were officially sanctioned by the larger Women’s March organization.

“We are proud that the movement ignited one year ago today is strong, loud, and undeterred,” the organization said in a statement on the eve of the March. “It’s exciting to see how many people are still eager to organize marches and hit the streets.”

This second march seemed to take on a new importance, as people in the streets in major cities registered attendees to vote and people spoke of their responsibility as a member of a constituency. While most marchers came to share their opposition to the Trump administration, they also spoke about the importance of voting in the upcoming 2018 midterm election.

Susanne Burger, a resident of Westchester, New York, and co-founder of Westchester Citizen Therapists, shared her concerns surrounding gerrymandering and voter disenfranchisement at the march.

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“Marching builds a sense of empowerment and hopefully that will carry over to voter registration and a persistent effort to turn this around. Because this is not acceptable,” Burger said, as she carried a sign that read “How to survive Trumpism: stay informed, be vigilant, take action, VOTE.”

In Washington D.C., they called the event the “March on the Polls.” The event’s Facebook page said the point was to encourage women to engage “in the political process, including running for office, and it is vital that women and their allies continue to take an active role in 2018 elections.”

Image: People gather during the Women's March around Lincoln Memorial in Washington, DC, on Jan. 20, 2018 in Washington. Image: People gather during the Women's March around Lincoln Memorial in Washington, DC, on Jan. 20, 2018 in Washington.

People gather during the Women’s March around Lincoln Memorial in Washington, DC, on Jan. 20, 2018 in Washington. Andres Kudacki / for NBC News

Sen. Kristen Gillibrand, D-N.Y., and Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Va., spoke to the crowds in Washington D.C., taking a break from the continuing government shutdown negotiations.

“If you care about winning back the House, flipping the Senate, then I urge you to support Democratic candidates all across the country,” Gillibrand told a cheering crowd. “Whatever issue is most important to you, each one of you is an agent of change.”

“This is our moment to stand tall, to fight back and be heard,” the senator added.

Meanwhile, in Chicago, the crowd chanted, “Elect Women!” and “Vote!” and carried signs that said, “Grab ’em by the polls,” “Don’t boo, vote” and “KISS my ballot.”

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“In addition to marching, we have to be involved by getting everyone to vote,” explained Laura Ring, a member of the League of Women Voters of Chicago who was out on the street registering demonstrators to vote. “Last year we were reacting, this year we have an opportunity to organize, come together, and take action. It feels more concrete this year.”

Kim Warnke, 40, joined the protests in Chicago and further highlighted the importance of voting.

“Over the last year, our worst fears were realized, so there is an emphasis on the March to the Polls,” she said. “We have to use our political power, which is the most effective way to resist. This march isn’t our actual work, it’s what we do between the marches.”

Many at the demonstrations, however, also shared their broad concerns about the direction of the country under the Trump administration, especially as it related to women’s rights, immigration, diversity and freedom of the press.

Maria Cellario, 72, attended the march in New York City with a three-foot sign strung around her neck that said, “I’m an immigrant, a woman, and a voter.” A native of Buenos Aires, she said that the Trump administration is eerily familiar.

“These attacks on the free press are scaring the hell out of me,” she said, noting that the Argentinian government came after her father’s newspaper, forcing her family to flee to the U.S. in 1953.

Trump is “taking away our freedoms in a country that I’ve come to love,” she added. “He’s attacking what it means to be American.”

Meanwhile, Trump referenced the weather and the economy in a tweet about the march.

Protesters also gathered in other parts of the globe. In Rome, marchers met earlier in the day, and chanted in English, “This is what democracy looks like.”

Actress and director Asia Argento, who accused Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein of sexual assault, shared her story with the crowds in Rome. Argento and many other women accused Weinstein of rape and sexual misconduct. (He has “unequivocally denied” “any allegations of non-consensual sex,” according to his spokesman.)

“Women are scared to speak and because I was vilified by everything I said, I was called a prostitute for being raped,” Argento said. “I wonder how women who received such violence would find the courage to come out as I did, when they saw what happened to me, so I am here to assess the necessity of women to speak out and change things.”

Chelsea Bailey and Phil McCausland reported from New York. Safia Ali reported from Chicago.