January 21, 2018. One year and one day since the Inauguration of Donald Trump as President of the United States and subsequently, the gathering of women and minorities everywhere to protest Trump’s problematic policies. One year since that historic day and marches all over the country did not go away and did not cease. They only grew.
One year ago I was sitting at home, desperately hoping I could have been in DC to fight for the causes important to me. This year I was among the 30,000 people in Downtown Pittsburgh, finally having my chance to stand with like minded people and say “This is what we care about and we aren’t going to shut up about it anytime soon”.
After marching in DC for DACA last month, I had become used to how marches work. First, everyone meets at one central place; for us it was the City-County Building on Grant Street. Speakers spoke to the crowds filled with women and men of all ages and races who make up Pittsburgh’s unique demographic. Homemade signs saturated the air as people held them high.
Finally the march began toward Market Square and there was music and chants like “Show me what democracy looks like (This is what democracy looks like)” to announce to the people of Pittsburgh we had arrived. Our small Market Square was packed full as more speakers came to the stage just in front of City Works to address the crowds once again. One of the most notable speakers was Mayor Bill Peduto who personally delivered the news that 30,000 people had rallied that day, more so than the year previous.
It meant so much to me personally to not only have been able to attend to this year’s march, but to also bring so many friends and classmates with me. I was only expecting a few people I had personally invited to join us, but when I reached our meeting place on Sunday morning I was amazed and so grateful to find so many people were willing to come out on a cold and rainy Sunday morning to fight for these important causes.
Photo Credit: Neil Price | IG: @neiltprice
It was an absolutely incredible experience and one I am so grateful to have been a part of. I can’t wait for next year to see our numbers grow even more and show our current administration that we are not giving up and we are not stepping down. We are here to stay and we will not go until change is made.