On Saturday January 21st, the day after Donald Trump officially became the 45th President of the United States, millions of women, men, and children around the world marched in protest. Many people think that the protest was only for women’s rights and equality, but it was much more than that. It was also about immigrant’s rights, ethnic rights, and rights for people with disabilities.   

My sister and I went to the protest in Kansas City, MO, at Washington Square Park. When our cousin first informed us of the march, we immediately wanted to go, but some things came up and we weren’t sure we could make it. The march started at 1 pm on Saturday and it wasn’t until around 10 am that day that we decided we could go.

We quickly got ready and headed out the door, where we went to our cousin’s house to follow her, her daughter, and their family friends down to the march. We got to Kansas City around 11:30 am, so before we went down to the park, we stopped in the power and light district for lunch at Chipotle. The line was incredibly long, so by the time we got done with eating, it was about 12:45, and it was time to head to the protest.

We walked a mile down the road where we saw tons of people holding signs and wearing pink heading in the same direction as us. Before we even got to the park, we could see thousands of people all around. When we got to the park there were so many people it was incredible. There was such a variety of people there- from younger women and men to children to elderly people. There were so many signs and posters showing off what the march was all about.

There was a stage with guest speakers telling their stories and why they were there that day. At first we were in the back of the crowd and couldn’t really hear what the speakers were saying, but we went around to the back and got about fifteen feet away. The speakers weren’t just women, there was also a man that was an immigrant from Mexico, a man whose sister got a gun pulled on her because she was Muslim, and a blind woman who was standing up for disability rights. There were also women speakers talking about women equality and telling their stories of their traumatic events were they felt their rights were taken.

Overall the protest wasn’t just about “hating” Trump or just women’s rights, it was about so much more. It was about people coming together and standing for what they believe in.