Movement maintains momentum in second year
Women’s march rivals turnout for 2017 demonstration
Thousands of men, women and children took to the streets Saturday to call attention to the plight of women in America, the burgeoning #MeToo movement and President Donald Trump and his administration’s policies and attitudes.
Some wore the same pinkeared hats as last year, but many held signs hailing new causes during the second Houston Women’s March held in downtown Houston.
Carolyn Canville was among the throng gathered near the Sabine Street bridge before the march began. Holding a sign that read, “The sharks are coming for you,” directed at Trump, the 60-year-old said it was hard to keep track of the controversies the president had created since the first march last year.
“How can you count them?” said Canville. “There’s so many every day. The latest one, calling those countries an expletive. That was so embarrassing and coming from the president of the United States. It’s horrendous.”
Women’s marches took place in cities across the country Saturday, but the largest was planned for Las Vegas on Sunday. In 2017, massive rallies were held in the aftermath of the inauguration of Trump, who has faced allegations of sexual harassment from more than a dozen women. Robin Paoli, the founder of the Houston Women’s March, estimated that more than 20,000 people attended on Saturday. A Houston police spokesman was unable to confirm that figure.
Some women’s signs pointed to growing movements from 2017 and news from as recently as Friday night, with ones reading “Me Too” and “The new 1st anniversary present is a government shutdown.”
A diverse group of Texans, old and young, composed the thousands who marched through city streets. Rain drizzled on marchers early in the day and intermittently while participants made speeches.
As the group marched toward City Hall, chants echoed of “Black Lives Matter,” “Donald Trump has got to go!” and “My Body, My Choice.”
Kandice Webber, a Black Lives Matter Houston leader, urged women during a premarch rally organized by Daily Action founder Laura Moser to make sure the current women’s movement was inclusive of all minority women. She noted there is a Black Women’s March planned for March at Emancipation Park.
“It’s time for us to start checking our privilege; it’s time for us to start checking our biases,” said Webber.
Annalice Sandiero, a 16-yearold student at YES Prep Southeast, held a sign written in Spanish that read “A beautiful woman doesn’t remain quiet.” She was marching for the first time for her undocumented parents and cousins who are affected by uncertainty over the future of DACA, a federal program that grants legal status to immigrants brought to the United States illegally as children.
“In the Latino community, there’s a lot of machismo. For women to stand up and talk about issues that are important, it’s not very common,” said Sandiero. “I think as a Latina, I should fight against it and speak up.” ‘Be angry and lead us’
Rosalie Hyde, 68, said she felt hopeless about the current state of the country. She participated in a women’s march in 1968 and is now watching a new movement concerning women being open about sexual assault through the hashtag #MeToo.
Hyde said she has worked as a therapist for 30 years with women who have been sexually abused.
“I hope we can get some women leaders who can speak out, can get the microphone and be angry and lead us,” said Hyde. “We need leaders for the movement to keep going.”
Bradley Sutton, 24, and Dexter Riley, 35, two men from the Energy Corridor, were marching for the first time to show their support for women and minorities.
“It’s really about being a part of something that’s bigger than just yourself and tapping into different resources so that you can try to make a difference,” Riley said. No glass ceilings
As the march finished in front of City Hall, the crowd roared when Mayor Sylvester Turner took the stage to tell the women that he would continue to support them in future marches.
“The glass ceilings that existed in this country must be no more,” Turner said, adding “Let’s elect a whole lot of women to positions of power!”
Turner added that he hopes to see a woman elected president in his lifetime.
“I hope that the energy will not go away,” Turner said. “I hope the fire will continue to burn.”
Canville had the same hopes as she stood among the crowd before the march began. She said she is proud to see the movement has sustained since last year.
“In a way I want to thank Donald Trump, because he’s caused this to happen,” she said. “This country is going to move in a direction that it needs to move in.”