“She Believed She Could So She Did”: Women’s March 2018

%28Top%29+Senior+Lillie+Gihl%2C+York+alum+Sam+Barton%2C+Junior+Rene+Sieracki%2C+Junior+Jojo+Moyer%2C+Junior+Holly+Goodwin%2C+Senior+Shanice+Muirhead%2C+Junior+Marianna+Gatti%2C+and+York+alum+Gianna+Wieczorek%2C%0A+%28Bottom%29+Juniors+Parker+Mahoney+and+Caroline++Fritsch+all+proudly+hold+their+posters+in+front+of+them+while+standing+in++Chicagos+Grant+Park+before+marching.+Sat.%2C+Jan.+20%2C+2018

Photo by Nate Swanson

(Top) Senior Lillie Gihl, York alum Sam Barton, Junior Rene Sieracki, Junior Jojo Moyer, Junior Holly Goodwin, Senior Shanice Muirhead, Junior Marianna Gatti, and York alum Gianna Wieczorek, (Bottom) Juniors Parker Mahoney and Caroline Fritsch all proudly hold their posters in front of them while standing in Chicago’s Grant Park before marching. Sat., Jan. 20, 2018

We’ve come a long way since the start of our nation, but women’s rights still remain an issue. The Women’s March, a movement that’s mission is to “harness the political power of diverse women and their communities to create transformative social change”, has been considered the largest single-day protest since the Vietnam War protests in the 1960’s.

The first Women’s March was held on Jan. 21, 2017 in Washington D.C and in many other cities around the nation. The protests were sparked after the inauguration of President Donald Trump as a response to many remarks he made against women. This protest calls not just women, but men as well, to stand up for women’s rights, reproductive rights, and also for healthcare reform and immigration reform.

Here we are one year later coming together yet again to stand up for ourselves and others for fundamental human rights. EMPOWER club took a stand along with about half a million women and men who attended the march this past Saturday on Jan. 20, along with other York students who were passionate about the cause.

“I came to the march to be apart of the beautiful community that is women and their allies,” sophomore Angelica Debenedictis said. “Though we have come a long way, we still have further to go. Socially, politically, economically, and more, we still have so many issues that women of all kinds are facing.”

Here are a few of the faces that make up the men and women who stood up for women’s rights this past weekend.

Photo by Nate Swanson
York alum Sam Barton (left), passionately holding up her sign and a Bluetooth speaker playing “Titanium,” is joined by Junior Parker Mahoney (right) as they march together at the 2018 Women’s March. Sat., Jan. 20, 2018
Smiling for the camera, a young girl displays her sign saying “She the people”.
Photo by Nate Swanson
York alum Gianna Wieczorek (left) hides a taunting laugh from onlooking law enforcement during the Women’s March. Sat., Jan. 20, 2018
Photo by Nate Swanson
A family of three stand in the center of a street after participating in the Women’s March. Sat., Jan. 20, 2018
A marcher holds up his creative sign saying “I’m with her,” while arrows point to all the women around him.
Photo by Nate Swanson
A smirking onlooker shows off her sign as she stands over the crowd of marchers. Sat., Jan. 20, 2018
Photo by Nate Swanson
A participant sits for a coffee break before she marches the streets of Chicago at the second annual Women’s March. Sat., Jan. 20, 2018
Photo by Nate Swanson
Senior Shanice Muirhead (far right) holds her poster on display as she and fellow marchers are interviewed for DePaul University news. Sat., Jan. 20, 2018
Proud marcher, Meghan Morgan, 30, holds up her sign saying “Nevertheless She Persisted.” “I think it’s important because our mother’s before and so many women before us have stood up for what they believe and what’s right for women in general,” Meghan Morgan said. “Stand up for people everywhere no matter their sex, their race, or their color. Everybody needs to stand up for women and people in general. Now is the time to do it.”
Photo by Nate Swanson
Senior Shanice Muirhead, with a flag in her hair, stands as one of the hundreds of thousands of young women who took on the streets that day. Sat., Jan. 20, 2018
Photo by Nate Swanson
Holding a bouquet of flowers in their hands, two women express how one of America’s basic foundations still stand true to this day. Sat., Jan. 20, 2018
Ten year old Leah proudly displays her sign on Saturday, Jan. 20.
A mother and marcher took her baby, attaching a humorous sign that says “Yeah I take naps but I still stay woke”.
Photo by Nate Swanson
A musician strums his guitar, reading “This machine kills fascists,” on the streets of Chicago after the Women’s March comes to a close. Sat., Jan. 20, 2018