Beautiful morning greets thousands of marchers here
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
If President Donald Trump thought the weather was beautiful for his inaugural parade Friday, then the beautiful morning that greeted the thousands of area residents who peacefully marched Downtown and in East Liberty Saturday to oppose his day-old administration was, in the new president’s own words, HUUUUGE.
Bearing signs that read “Drain the Patriarchy,” “Cervix says: not my president,” “Make America think again,” and “Our rights are not up for grabs,” more than 4,000 women, joined by hundreds of men, marched from the City-County Building down Fifth Avenue to Market Square, where they were exhorted to get involved and stop Mr. Trump from eliminating the Affordable Care Act and other programs that benefit women and minorities.
“I’m here to stand up for women’s reproductive rights and all the other rights that Trump is trying to get rid of,” said Elizabeth Self, 31.
The Friendship resident came to the Sister March for Pittsburgh Downtown armed with a sign that said “Keep your tiny hands off my rights,” a poke at Mr. Trump’s campaign trail boast about how large his hands are. They are actually relatively small based on a cast of them made for his statue in Madame Tussaud’s Wax Museum in New York.
Gayle Kirkwood, the emcee of the Downtown event, said it was one of 673 marches in 50 states and 80 countries affiliated with Saturday’s Women’s March on Washington. An estimated 2.2 million people took part in those satellite demonstrations, Ms. Kirkwood said.
The East Liberty “Our Feminism Must be Intersectional Rally/March” was organized by a splinter group that felt organizers of the Downtown protest did not place enough emphasis on the rights of women of color, the LGBT community, and those with disabilities.
The theme of intersectionality — which involves overlapping social identities, particularly from oppressed or minority groups — dominated the event.
“This time, we kept all of our black queens in front,” said organizer Diarra Clark.
Participants wielded signs that addressed minority groups, often left out of the mainstream white feminism. A young girl held a “#StopProfilingMuslims” banner and another person raised up “Racism Kills.”
Both events started at 11 a.m. and concluded more than two hours later.
The East Liberty march began at 5704 Penn Ave., just a few blocks from the KellyStrayhorn Theater, and stretched over a half mile to the Pittsburgh Theological Seminary, where there was a Summit Against Racism.
Organizers advised women of color and members of the LGBT community to lead the marchers.
Pittsburgh Police acting assistant chief Jason Lando said 1,000 had registered for the event, but estimated 1,500 to 2,000 were involved. A considerable number were men.
One of them was William Fissell, a 25-year-old consultant from Bloomfield.
“As a cisgender [identifies with the gender assigned at birth] white male, I need to be part of this as an ally,” he said.
Mark Ferren, a 26-year-old server from Lawrenceville, added that it’s vital to support all marginalized people, not just women.
Lynne Flavin went to the Downtown event to support women’s rights. The Lawrenceville woman said she was in her late 60s.
“I’m old enough to remember when choice was in danger,” she said, referring to the days before the U.S. Supreme Court’s 1973 Roe v. Wade decision legalizing abortion.
“You have to have choice. That is so important and it’s so easy to take away,” Ms. Flavin said. “All of the people here today need to be vigilant. Not vigilantes, vigilant.”
Guy Costa, the city’s chief operations officer, said more than 25,000 took part in the March Downtown. Ms. Kirkwood said over 4,000 people RSVP’d via social media for the Downtown march. Given that the crowd did not completely fill Market Square, the size of it appeared closer to 4,000 than 25,000.
Allegheny County Controller Chelsa Wagner got them riled up when she said one of her favorite quotes is “when you want something said, ask a man. When you want something done, ask a woman.
“This is our democracy. For it to work, it takes all of us,” she said, urging them to get involved in politics.
“When we vote, when we work, we win,” Ms. Wagner told them.