On Jan. 20, LA hosted its second Women’s March, in honor of the one-year anniversary of the first Women’s March during Donald Trump’s inauguration last year. The Women’s March is a women-led movement in which their goal is to provide information on different women’s rights issues. This march is committed to break down oppression and discrimination of women through a non-violent, peaceful protest. Many famous feminist celebrities took part in this march such as Natalie Portman, Viola Davis, Scarlett Johansson, Olivia Wilde. Some CHS students attended this march to fight for women’s rights and have their voices be heard.

The Women’s March was very packed with almost 500,000 people marching through the streets of LA. The marchers gathered at Pershing Square and marched a mile to Grand Park, closing many streets. Sophomore Liam Geary attended this march and enjoyed the experience and atmosphere.

“The setting was extremely energized with tons of people packed into the route with super creative signs and chants,” Geary said. “There was a sense of fellowship and community between everyone there, but with a definite common purpose.”

This year’s Women’s March focused on the #MeToo and #TimesUp movements, which were responses to the women and men who have been sexually assaulted. The march also represented the “dreamers”,children, now adults, who were brought illegally into the U.S. and protected under DACA to study and work. It also supported the reproductive rights of women, such as abortion, birth control, and access to Planned Parenthood, with many marchers having signs with vaginas and uteruses. Junior, Fiona Baller, took notice of these controversial signs and did not agree with the portrayment of women.

“The best part of the march was how so many were coming together under a common goal,” Baler said. “However, I feel that it wasn’t as inclusive as it should have been because a lot of posters were vagina-centric which excludes a whole group of women from the movement.”

This march contained many powerful speeches delivered from famous female celebrities. Actress Viola Davis made a speech about the #MeToo movement and #TimesUp initiative for the victims of sexual assault and harassment in Hollywood. She stated that one out of every five women will be sexually assaulted and raped before she reaches the age of 18. Geary felt inspired about this speech and what Viola Davis had to say.

“I spent most of my time at the march listening to some of the most amazing speeches from activists and icons I have ever heard,” Geary said. “One of the speeches that stuck with me was an extremely moving testimony from Viola Davis, on the importance of activism for equality.”

The Women’s March is a place for anyone who would like to participate in fighting for women’s rights and is interested in social issues involving women. The goal of the march is to be as intersectional as possible, which means helping all women combat systematic oppression. It gives a voice to those who are victims of racism, sexual assault, deportation, homophobia/transphobia, and other forms of discrimination. Overall, it is important to see that there is a place for people to voice their opinions without feeling judged or shut down.