Marches took place all over the country and around the world on Saturday in conjunction with the Women’s March on Washington, D.C. The event in Phoenix drew tens of thousands of demonstrators.
The streets surrounding the Capitol building in downtown Phoenix were flooded with peaceful demonstrators. The march focused broadly on the rights of marginalized groups. Speakers talked about a number of issues, including voter enfranchisement and making sure that feminism includes the voices of women from all different backgrounds.
Before and after demonstrators took to the streets, elected officials and community organizers spoke to the crowd.
"Women — we have our work cut out for us. And we must raise the bar of activism and advocacy and move with vigilance to overcome the challenges that impact us all," said Ann Hart, president of the Maricopa County branch of the NAACP.
The event was peaceful and included not just women, but also many men and families.
Roy Cardenas marched with a sign that had a women’s symbol with a fist in it.
“Women rights to me are human rights and also as a queer man, homophobia is also routed in mainly in misogyny, so a march for women is a march for everybody," said Cardenas.
Many of those in attendance pointed to the likely repeal of the Affordable Care Act as well as Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) as policies they were especially worried about.
Phoenix police officers and the members of the Arizona Department of Public Safety estimated there were anywhere from 10,000 to 25,000 demonstrators in attendance.
