A year after women took to the streets en masse to protest President Donald Trump’s inauguration, thousands of marchers gathered Saturday in cities across the United States
In Los Angeles, so many women showed up that it was hard to get a cellphone signal within the crowd. In Chicago, thousands assembled downtown, surrounded by gleaming skyscrapers.
And in New York, women filled Central Park West from 61st Street to as far north as the eye could see.
“Over the last year, every day when I read the news or watch the news, I’m horrified at the things that Trump and his administration are doing,” said Claudia Grubbs, a 42-year-old high school teacher who marched in Los Angeles. Grubbs said the experience of marching a year ago spurred her to donate to organizations that support women in politics.
Amanda Kowalski, also in Los Angeles, said she was fed up with the power imbalance between the sexes. “I’m done with men feeling like they have some sort of power over women,” said Kowalski, 28, who works in financial services.
The president seemed to celebrate the women’s demonstrations, even though the protests across the country had a distinct anti-Trump message.
“Beautiful weather all over our great country, a perfect day for all Women to March,” Trump said on Twitter. “Get out there now to celebrate the historic milestones and unprecedented economic success and wealth creation that has taken place over the last 12 months. Lowest female unemployment in 18 years!”
According to Bureau of Labor Statistics data, the unemployment rate for women ages 20 and older has been falling steadily since 2012, years before Trump took office.
In Washington, the site of the most high-profile march last year, participants made their way to the Lincoln Memorial wearing the symbolic pink hats that were popular in 2017.
The organizers of last year’s march in Washington focused their energy this year on putting together an event Sunday in Las Vegas. The event, called Power to the Polls, will serve as an opening rally for a national voter registration campaign.
This article originally appeared in The New York Times.