Larry Griffin
Worldwide on Saturday afternoon, women and the men who stand with them marched and rallied against new President Donald Trump. Orlando’s march happened at Lake Eola’s Walt Disney Amphitheater, which filled with hundreds of people, covering every square inch of the park.
Over the loudspeakers, speakers spoke empowering messages of women’s rights and the need to stand up and protest.
The event, like others happening around the country and worldwide, was a reaction to the election of Trump, whose messages and statements on the campaign trail since 2015 have many people fearful about what he’ll do on the many issues they care about.
The crowd in Orlando was full of people milling around with shirts bearing slogans like ‘Feminist’ or ‘Nasty Woman’ as well as signs of protest, touting ‘Not My President,’ expressing messages of support for women’s reproductive rights, the Affordable Care Act, LGBT issues, climate change and more. Some signs called for Trump’s impeachment.
“We wanted to come out and make sure our voices were heard,” said protester Robin Katz. “Protecting climate change, reproductive health, the rights of people of color… these should be the top issues.”
An older man calling himself Pippi Dreadstocking, with a long gray beard and a huge cardboard box with a sign proclaiming Trump to be “never his president,” stood by Rosalind Avenue, strikingly visible to passing motorists.
“I’m here in solidarity with the women of this planet,” he said. “I see this new leader as a threat to all life on this Earth as we know it. As a white man, it’s my job to support every other group attacked. It’s my duty as a citizen. If you do nothing, you’re complacent.”
Over the loudspeaker, the messages kept coming, a never-ending stream of them: “If women succeed, we all succeed,” one speaker triumphantly proclaimed.
But through all their messages they were unified in purpose.
“It’s about peace,” said protester Andrea Delph. “About being around others who share your values. With this new presidential year… I wanted to be here with all my women.”
