“I want people to recognize that not everyone is free in a country where we boast diversity and freedom,” Ashland University senior Melanie Ward said. 

On Jan. 21, an estimated four million people from around the world participated in a worldwide march in support of immigration reform, healthcare reform, protection of the natural environment, LGBTQ, racial justice, freedom of religion, and even workers rights. 

The 2017 Women’s March saw people of all ages, gender, sexuality, and race come together as one in order to make a change in this world with one simple act of protest. 

These rallies aimed at Donald Trump immediately following his inauguration of becoming The President of the United States and were largely due to his statements and positions that were regarded by some as misogynistic. 

According to their mission, the goals of the 2017 women’s march on Washington were aimed at the protection of people’s rights, safety, health, and their families.

Ward participated in the Washington D.C. March where she said she believed she was able to project a message of needed equality and empathy for women and minorities.

“Overall, it was an amazingly unifying experience,” Ward said. “Little things over the course of the day stood out to me. When travelling on the metro to the march, a woman was handing out the pink hats she had spent months knitting. Sitting and watching people walk by, reading their signs, and seeing the diversity of issues come together was incredible. We met women from all over the country who made it a priority to be there.” 

With the roughly four million people involved, an estimate of 500,000 participated in the march on Washington. 

Ashland University student Delaney Jones also participated in the march, although stayed local to Ashland and traveled to the march in Wooster, Ohio. 

“Personally, I wanted my voice to be heard,” Jones said. “I wanted people to know that this was not people being “sore losers” about the election, it was millions of women and men that were truly concerned about the future of their country.”

Jones believes the march was very important because of its historical value. Being international,Jones said the march displayed how impactful the results of an election can to society on a global scale.

The Wooster March was only expected to see about 50-80 people, but the streets were filled with about 200-300 people.

It was not only students from AU who participated in the Women’s March, but some faculty members also took part in the event as well. 

Dr. Linda Brown is an English professor at Ashland University and teaches courses in American literature focused on social constructions of gender, race and class. Brown has also authored books focusing on constructions of racial differences in literature and the American immigrant experience.

Brown participated in the “sister march” in Wooster to personally “speak up at a time when women’s rights were imperiled.” Brown said. “I view dissent as crucial to democracy, and so marching seemed a natural response to our current political climate.”

What inspired Brown the most was the spirit of bringing all different types of people together that pervaded the march and how so many people came from all around to support not only women’s rights but also defend immigrant rights, LGBTQ, the environment, native American rights, and the lives and rights of Black Americans.

“I have never seen a demonstration of this scale that so purposely addressed the intersectional nature of human identity,” Brown said. “Even though the news since the march has been bleak, I am heartened to see this spirit of inclusivity continue in the protests against the new administration’s travel band.”

Although the Women’s March had different meanings to many people worldwide, those who attended believed it fulfilled its purpose of giving Americans a chance to voice their opinions, even on a more local scale, in an attempt to protect people’s rights, safety, health, and their families.

“It would go against my own personal ethics to be silent, ignorant, or dismissive of these issues,” Ward said. “The world is bigger than myself, and I want to be a part of it.”