We marched with the women of Tallahassee against President Trump

The energy that rose from the crowd gathering in front of Railroad Square Art Park incited goose bumps. There was not one person there that seemed to be harnessing any negative energy; it was about comradeship and equality.

The amount of diversity that huddled together in groups was beyond anything we had ever imagined. The amount of people who were advocating for rights that did not even apply to them set the tone for the Women’s March of Tallahassee. This was not only about women’s rights, it was about injustice.

The sky was cloudy with impending rain and the amount of umbrellas and raincoats were beyond any level of preparation. Everyone was here to march and no rain or tornado warning was going to stop them. People had come up from different cities around the state to march in Tallahassee, as they believed it would make a bigger impact than in their own city.

A woman from Tampa, Florida had driven up five hours to be with her daughter who is a student at Florida State University. She believed that even though Tampa was going to have an outcome of over 17 thousand people marching, her purpose was better served being in the capital.

We spoke for a while about the injustices that she had witnessed throughout her life and how she believed the Trump presidency trying to regress made progress should just make us all stronger. Her daughter lamented that we cannot just rally for one day and think that it will continue to serve a higher purpose in the future. “There has to be a continuous fight,” her mother added, “we have to fight for the next four years”.

As it slowly began, we were able to speak to a Planned Parenthood Clinic Escort who had learned about women’s reproductive rights through Planned Parenthood and decided to volunteer her efforts to them. She also told us that throughout the election she volunteered for Hillary Clinton’s campaign. Although the results were not in her favor, she had come out to show her support for the women she had helped.

Later in passing, an older woman had tapped her shoulder to thank her for her duties as a clinic escort.

As we left Railroad Square Art Park towards FAMU’s recreation center, African-American students holding signs saying, “Stop the school-to-prison pipeline” and “the duty of the youth is 2 challenge corruption,” chanted, “we want peace, not racist police”.

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It was at that moment that many realized that the Women’s March wasn’t solely based on women’s rights, but of those in every race and culture that has been wronged by the government. This was to not only stand in solidarity with women, but with all the minorities that have been attacked throughout this entire election, with the corruption and the bigotry that is rotting our country.

The idea that over thousands of people attended this rally and were walking in dreadful rain in order to fight for justice shows us that this is the beginning of something greater than all of us.

Although we couldn’t march to the capital, the streets to the FAMU recreation center were shut down with police blockades and the amount of support was electric. Everyone was yelling for justice, peace and equality. There was no unrest, just hope for a better future.

As we left the march at its saddening demise, we ran into a family who had tied to their baby’s stroller a sign that read, “don’t limit my future”. If today wasn’t enough of a call to action, that should be. We cannot stop our progress. We have to jump through the hurdles, abolish negativity against our race, gender, sexual preference, culture, etc. If we don’t the future doesn’t have a chance.

The Women’s March today in Tallahassee, Florida showed us that peaceful protests are capable of inciting change. We were only one of many, but if the world bands together towards this cause, there is nothing we can’t do.