Thousands march on City Hall in protest following Trump’s inauguration
More than 22,000 protestors gathered in downtown Houston outside City Hall Jan. 21, as a part of the Women’s March on Washington. Protestors gathered in support of women’s rights and to voice their opposition to the inauguration of President Donald Trump.
The Houston Women’s March was planned 10 days prior to the event. The march in Houston was an extension of similar protests that took place across the nation including Washington D.C., Los Angeles, New York and Chicago.
Protestors started the march at Buffalo Bayou Park and ended at Hermann Square, outside City Hall, for a rally that featured guest speakers and elected officials.
Hundreds of police officers were posted around the area to ensure that the protest did not turn violent and to provide security for the guest speakers.
One of the speakers was Mayor of Houston Sylvester Turner, whose speech drew cheers from the crowd. Turner emphasized the importance of moving forward in the fight for equality and said that Houstonians “are going to love one another.”
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Many of the participants in the event held up creative signs or wore customized shirts supporting rights for minorities and the LGBT community.
“We are a nation of diversity, and diversity is not being represented in our government,” said Elise Parsons, a protestor at the Women’s March. “If everyone decided to stay at home, this wouldn’t be much of a rally. As a group we can become louder, and our voices can be heard.”
A large number of the signs and chants were also critical of President Trump’s use of language and his political ideas.
One protestor created a large puppet to resemble President Trump wearing a sign that read, “Putin’s Puppet.”
Others in attendance held up signs that read, “Pizza rolls, not gender roles,” and “Our rights are not up for grabs. Neither are we.”
A dog was also seen walking around wearing a sign that encouraged people to support Planned Parenthood, while protestor Mary Newport remained at the event after most people left to hold her sign that read, “Normalize equality.”
“I’m out here because a lot of women are having their choices taken from them, myself included,” said Newport. “People don’t listen to women and that’s not right, so we are out here changing that.”
Some of the protestors participated in order to show solidarity with those who they feel need the support.
“I came out here because I have two gay children, so I’m here to represent them,” said protestor Carol Jones. “I want to make sure that they are safe, their jobs are secured and that they are equal.”
The rally ended with music being played from speakers on the eastern side of Houston City Hall with many people dancing in celebration.
“The march was empowering, inspiring and peaceful,” said Leo Chan, associate professor of communications and digital media studies. “Everyone there showed love, kindness and support for one another. I hope this march has given people hope and strength the way it has given me. But don’t stop now, and we need to continue to let our voices be heard.”
