Nearly 3,000 people came together Saturday afternoon to participate in the Dayton Women’s March, a rally held in conjunction with the Women’s March on Washington.
The rally, sponsored by the Dayton Women’s Rights Alliance, was more than triple the size expected by the event's planners, attracting participants from as far away as Columbus.
Organizers say they hoped the rally would call attention to how President Donald Trump’s policy proposals may affect women, LGBTQ people and multicultural communities across the Miami Valley.
Speakers included representatives from the Dayton YWCA, the League of United Latin American Citizens Council and the NAACP, who discussed reproductive health care, education, policing and immigrants-rights issues.
Attendees at the event, held in downtown Dayton's Courthouse Square, carried signs and wore pink so-called “pussy hats,” with crocheted cat-ears, to denote support for women and minority groups. Many protesters said they had never attended a march or rally before.
Brianna Moen was one of those first-timers.
The Dayton STEM School student came to the rally with her mother because, she says, she wanted to do something to stand up for women’s rights. She’s also concerned about how Trump’s policies may affect her ability to get a college education.
Moen says the rally gave her reason to hope.
“I think the only word I can use to describe it is empowering,” says Moen. “Seeing all these people just come together for peace and in support of human rights ... I don’t know how to explain it. It just feels so good to be surrounded by your community.”
Organizers say more gatherings are planned for the coming months.
