People’s March Washington DC. Photo Credit Facebook Women’s March
On January 18, thousands of demonstrators took to Washington DC streets, in a mainly women-led march, to show their resistance to Trumpism ahead of his inauguration.
This People’s March is the eighth of its kind since Trump’s first inauguration back in 2017. During the first iteration of the march, crowds of men and women totalling over 500,000 demonstrators were drawn to Washington DC, not to mention tens of thousands more across the country.
The DC based demonstrations have always been both anti-Trump and pro-civil rights.
The People’s March group had said before the January 18 2025 march that: “With Trump set to return to the White House… we’re facing a moment that calls us to act boldly. It’s time to march.”
Participants on Saturday gathered at various points across Washington DC and then made their way to the National Mall where they gathered at the Lincoln Memorial. Although the Women’s or People’s March has continued to be a key anti-Trump protest, its numbers have declined each year since the first march.
This year’s protests were held two days in advance of Trump’s swearing-in ceremony on Monday, January 20, which, in a strange turn of events, will fall on Martin Luther King Jr Day (MLK Day). The Executive Director of Human Rights Watch, Tirana Hassan, said back in November 2024 that “Donald Trump has made no secret of his intent to violate the human rights of millions of people in the United States.”
During MLK Day, American civil rights and Martin Luther King’s legacy as a social change activist are celebrated. The very civil rights that modern activists insist Trump and his second presidential term will put in danger. It is difficult to imagine a more ironic day for Trump’s swearing-in to fall on.
There are subsequent People’s Marches across the United States planned for January 19.
The People’s March is a movement created in association with leading civil rights groups, reproductive rights groups and racial justice groups and is backed by big names like Planned Parenthood and the National Women’s Law Centre. Across the USA, more than 100 associations back the People’s March every year.
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