60,000 turn out for march in Toronto, 5 million worldwide
On Saturday, January 21st, Toronto was one of the 34 cities across Canada who took part in the Women’s March. Many were clad in pink cat-eared hats, armed with cleverly worded signs. Protestors grouped in Queen’s Park before marching down the street.
Many used the inflammatory rhetoric of newly inaugurated President Trump to their advantage with signs that read, “Nasty Women Unite” and “Build Bridges Not Walls.” Protesters chose to wield, and not yield, to the hate perpetuated throughout the election campaign and turned it into something more constructive.
Over 60,000 Torontonians joined the Sister March in solidarity with their “American Sisters” participating in the Women’s March on Washington. As one protester put it in an interview with the Toronto Star, it is “important that we show solidarity, not just for women but for all the different groups that Trump is attempting to marginalize. This isn’t just about women at all. That’s really an excuse, a headline. But we all need to stick together.” A sentiment shared by both the Women’s March organizers and represented in the faces, signs, and chants of the men, women, and children who took part.
The response worldwide was equally as spirited. According to the Women’s March site, there were approximately 5 million marchers, who took part in an estimated 673 marches worldwide. The result is an international display of solidarity, that touched all seven continents of the Earth.
The main march in Washington, estimates an attendance of almost 1 million people who, along with the hundreds of thousands of others who took part across the United States, produced one of the largest demonstrations in American history.
Back in Toronto, as the mass passed the United States consulate, they were funneled away from the building using barricades. On the other side, police mounted on bicycles and horses, and firetrucks lined up beside the edifice for safekeeping.
As another protester told the Toronto Star, “It’s a really positive vibe today and I’m excited for what’s going to happen tomorrow. Some people are scared this momentum will end but I don’t think it’ll stop today.” A sentiment echoed and promoted directly through the powerful words of the speakers at each march, and by the Women’s March’s new initiative to keep the ball rolling, way after everyone had put down their signs and gone home.
The new 10 Actions for the First 100 Days campaign aims to “transform this diverse, organic movement into a powerful force for equality and justice, with practical goals.” The first of these ten entails sending postcards to US Senators to make them aware of the people’s concerns and demands. A simple act, but if Saturday proves anything, it is that a collection of small acts can leave its mark on the world.
4.5