The largest single-day protest in U.S. history — the Women’s March on Washington — took place the day after Donald Trump was sworn in as the 45th president of the United States.
The mass mobilization of demonstrators exceeded the expectations of organizers at the main march in the U.S. capital. The estimated 1 million attendees also far surpassed the number who attended the inauguration.
There were sister marches held in 672 other cities around the world. Estimated participants worldwide: almost 5 million people.
Aerial photographs popped with the pink of the pointy-eared pussyhats worn by so many marchers — reminding the world of Trump’s vulgar boasts about sexually assaulting women.
Protesters carried signs that read, “Repeal and Replace Trump,” “Viva La Vulva,” “I’m with her,” “Ikea has better cabinets,” “Tweet women with respect” and “We shall overcomb.”
The Women’s March on Washington began to come together in the first week after Election Day in 2016.
The organizing statement read, “We stand together in solidarity with our partners and children for the protection of our rights, our safety, our health and our families — recognizing that our vibrant and diverse communities are the strength of our country.”
Sister marches took place in every U.S. state, including Wisconsin, as well as 60 other countries representing every continent.
As many as 100,000 marched in Madison that day, the crowd rivaling the largest demonstrations staged in 2011 against Gov. Scott Walker’s proposal that ended collective bargaining for public workers in the state.
Among the Madison marchers was Shelly Clarke of Racine, who said, “I went out to protest Donald Trump — his policies, his misdeeds and his hateful, sexist, racist, offensive language.”
The protests did not end with the Women’s March, as grass-roots groups across the country formed to stage weekly demonstrations outside congressional offices, state capitals and city halls.
And, in the months after the inauguration, there were marches for science, immigrant rights, the environment, fair wages, gun reform, LGBT equality, universal healthcare, net neutrality, peace, justice and black lives matter.
About the People’s Climate March in April, Kieran Suckling of the Center for Biological Diversity said, “From coast to coast we’ve seen a massive movement building to resist Trump and any policies that would hurt wildlife, marginalize entire classes of people and drive the climate deeper into crisis.”
Resisting Trump in Milwaukee
One of the larger demonstrations in Wisconsin occurred in February with the Day Without Latinx, Immigrants and Refugees. People went on strike, closed their businesses and withdrew kids from schools to join the protest, which culminated with a march to the Milwaukee County Courthouse.
There, the demonstrators heard from Milwaukee County Executive Chris Abele, state Rep. JoCasta Zamarripa and Voces de la Frontera executive director Christine Neumann-Ortiz.
“Today, we escalate the national and international struggle against Trump’s executive orders, which aim to expand the machinery of mass deportation and legalize discrimination based on race and religion,” Neumann-Ortiz said.
Rebecca Schulz was among the protesters that day and she also participated in the Women’s March on Madison Jan. 21.
She said the election outcome of 2016 drove her to march in 2017. “I was angry, furious about what happened on Election Day,” Schulz recalled. “That drove me.”
The question now: How will the “rise and resist” movement mature as the nation approaches the 2018 midterms?
More Flashback 2017:
Donald Trump turned his back on the planet
2017 saw accelerating attacks on the state’s environment
Responding to gun violence, GOP moves to weaken gun laws
Note: This story originally published in the Wisconsin Gazette.