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Chattanooga Women's March Organizer: Turnout Was 'Beyond My Wildest Dreams'

Fendall Fulton

The day after the Presidential inauguration, protesters flooded the streets in Washington, D.C. and all over the globe. It was a movement originally planned as an anti-Trump protest--but quickly morphed into a march for women’s rights. Chattanooga organizers sent a bus full of protesters to D.C., but here in the Scenic City, thousands more local residents met downtown for a rally and march.

The scope of it surprised everyone--organizers, participants, and city officials.

The march in Chattanooga was a sister rally to the marches in Washington, D.C. and other marches that were held all over the globe in solidarity for human rights. 

The rally took place in Coolidge Park and had a variety of speakers who represented different communities in Chattanooga including individuals with disabilities, Native Americans, Latinos, LGBTQ, and African-Americans. 

Ash-Lee Henderson of Concerned Citizens for Justice led the crown in chanting, "Educate, agitate, organize!"

Sherri Nakamoto, an original march organizer, said the large turnout was "beyond my wildest dreams. We started this thinking we would have a few hundred, but we have a few thousand."

Protesters took up both lanes of the Market Street Bridge. Bringing traffic to a standstill, they chanted, “Whose streets? Our streets!”

Men marched alongside women. Marcus Ellsworth joined in, saying he was marching in solidarity to protest President Trump's election and in a show of support with various communities and movements. 

“Actually," he said, "what surprised me was how well everyone seemed to be getting along, [and] some of the conversations I have overheard with people who are surprisingly conservative who are here. Having conversations with queer folks and liberals and leftists who I don't think they would have willingly been in a room with other than today.”

The protest was peaceful with no arrests or reported altercations. Police Chief Fred Fletcher posed for selfies with the marchers. 

“It's a great demonstration of Chattanooga’s abilities to get along," he said, "and to express their opinion in a productive manner and a safe manner. And we are very pleased with everybody’s fraternity and opportunity to speak their mind."

March organizer Sherri Nakamoto hopes that the march will be just the beginning of a lasting movement in Chattanooga. 

“We are committed to continuing this," she said. "This is just the beginning of many marches and rallies.” She said organizers have created a lot of groups in hopes of making permanent change. 

The next step, she said, is for organizers is to petition representatives for a town hall to answer questions from the citizens of Chattanooga, and she personally has contacted her senator and congressman.
 

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