Meet the Marchers of the Women’s March on Washington

Making the trek all the way from California, lining up for an hour just to reach the metro turnstiles, and chanting slogans like “We won’t go away, welcome to your first day,” the crowds turned up in masses to the Women’s March on Washington the day after Donald Trump’s inauguration this weekend, putting the estimated 250,000 who showed up for the president’s swearing-in to shame with an estimated 500,000 of its own. (And that was just a fraction of those who made it to satellite protests around the country, well over a million in total—crowds in New York City, Los Angeles, and Chicago have similarly been estimated in the hundreds of thousands.) Women, of course, made up a large section of the crowd, but there were also boyfriends and fathers, octogenarians, fresh-faced teens, and even infants in hot pink “I Stand with Planned Parenthood” beanies. In fact, so many flooded the capital that actually marching proved largely impossible—a drawback that the eager, at times impatient crowd, whose reasons for marching were diverse, from Black Lives Matter to reproductive rights to protecting the environment, welcomed with delight as proof demonstrators had turned out in full force. Here, get to know some of the hundreds of thousands who hit the streets for the Women’s March on Washington, from a gray-haired “virgin marcher” to a self-professed high school social justice warrior.

Teia and Mia Tuccillo, 11 and 18, science students, Canton, Connecticut Mia: “I’m at Wellesley College, Hillary Clinton’s alma mater. I turned 18 nine days after the election, so I actually couldn’t vote in it. I go to a women’s college, so having someone elected president who talks about groping women—I think about my sister, I’m here with my mom, and even my brother, and it’s a family thing, now. It’s not fair that the most educated woman loses to the least educated man.” Teia: “I don’t really like how women are treated differently, so I wanted to come and show how I didn’t like it.”

Jamaica Ponder, 18, student, Princeton, New Jersey “My first instinct was to think about the March on Washington. I’m a black female living in America, so that’s obviously something that’s just so iconic and inspirational and important to me and my history. To have the opportunity to participate in something which may have a similar effect and a similar impact on a demographic which I also belong to, I felt like it would be silly to pass that up. It was never a question of whether or not I would come; it’s how I was going to get here. I went to Obama’s first inauguration with my mother, and the type of love in the air that you feel, the electricity, you feel it here, and I’m so happy, even under the circumstances. This is my first protest. I’m really involved in social activism — I would consider myself to be a social justice warrior. But I mean, I’m so busy, I’ve never been able to make it out before, but this is my first one and I will definitely be to more.”

Marilyn Bowlus, “I’ve forgotten how old I am, and if I stopped to think, I wouldn’t be doing this,” retired nurse, Ohio “I’m marching for abortion, but there are so many reasons it goes on and on—I don’t know where to begin, exactly. I think we’ve got to let Trump know we’re watching. There were about 100 of us that came up from Columbus, Ohio, and we were up at 3 a.m. It was about a seven-hour ride, but we have a song we all sing, “I’m Gonna Walk It with You.” So we’re having a good time. You know, I’ve never been on a march before, and I think this makes me cry. I’m a virgin marcher, and this is so cool.”

Faheema Thompson, 15, student, Baltimore “I didn’t watch the inauguration; we kind of blacked out in the house. No TV, no social media at all. So I came for women’s rights, but this has turned into something more. Equal rights for everyone.”

Preyel Patel, 23, marketing specialist, Cambridge, Massachusetts “I’m with my family, my boyfriend’s two moms, my best friends, family friends. I was going to come down if Hillary won, for the inauguration, and I knew there would be some sort of protest march. I’m here to stand up to injustice and inequality and hatred, everything that Donald Trump stands for. Everything Donald Trump has said — grabbing women by the pussy. That’s sexual harassment. Perpetuating racial stereotypes, saying that all African-Americans live in inner cities that are ridden with violence. That’s bullshit. It’s bullshit, and it needs to be called out, and that’s why I’m here, to help call that out.”

Jerry and Abigail Murphy, 52 and 14, lawyer and student, Arlington, Virginia Abigail: “When I was watching the campaign, I didn’t agree with what Trump said about women. I really wanted Hillary to get elected and see the first woman president, and I just don’t understand how it happened and I want to fight for our rights.” Jerry: “Yesterday, we heard the inauguration speech, and basically, Trump created a vision of a world that was terrible so that only he can fix it. He wants to grab as much power as he can, and we all have to stand up and show him that he can’t do that.”

Mona Abdala, 38, English teacher (right), New Jersey “We’re teachers, both of us—I teach English, and she teaches religious studies, at an Islamic school in New Jersey. We just want to speak against all the bigotry we’re experiencing in this election cycle. It’s been a little bit since I protested, so this is really nice; we just feel very supported. It’s exhilarating to be here with all these people, marching for the same reason.”

Steve McNeill, 69, executive recruiter, Virginia “I made a conscious decision [not to watch the inauguration]. But this reinvigorates me. It gives me faith. When there’s situations that get to this level of need, I’m out, so I’m here to support all of the women here, as well as my wife and my daughter and my daughter’s friends.”

Alyssa Miller, 27, model, Austin, Texas “I just think it’s important to stand for what’s right. I definitely don’t support Trump and his words and his statements and his thoughts and his points of view. I’m here really just for my fellow women. We need each other.”

These interviews have been condensed and edited.

Now, meet the organizers behind the history-making Women’s March on Washington: