Chicago Women's March 2018
photo by James Richards IV

Chicago Women's March 2018 in pics

The Women’s March returned in 2018 with thousands of people coming out in cities worldwide all weekend, a year after the inaugural edition in 2017. We posted a set of pictures from NYC’s massive Women’s March on Saturday (1/20). Above, find pictures from Chicago’s, where turnout exceeded the 2017 edition. The Chicago Tribune reports:

The women of Chicago came out in force once again, with an estimated crowd of 300,000 rallying for equal rights – and against the Trump administration – at the second Women’s March Chicago on Saturday.

“The energy we saw throughout the year and continuing through today demonstrates once and for all that we are experiencing a resurgence in the women’s movement,” said organizer Jessica Scheller. “Only time will tell how much we can accomplish through it.”

Last year’s event unexpectedly shut down parts of the Loop with what organizers said was a quarter-million participants flooding Grant Park the day after President Donald Trump’s inauguration. While some wondered if momentum might wane over time, many marchers said cultural movements like the #MeToo and Time’s Up campaigns against sexual misconduct – as well as Trump’s policies – only increased their fervor this year.

“I’m marching for the women before us, the women of today and the women of the future,” said Lindsey Vaught Kerr, 29, of the Roscoe Village neighborhood, who carried a hand-made sign that read “We won’t stop until it rains glass.”

The event, dubbed March to the Polls, was held in solidarity this weekend with hundreds of similar marches in Washington D.C. and across the globe that are projected to draw millions.

Organizers said the focus this year has shifted from resistance against the Trump administration to influencing upcoming local, state and midterm elections. They estimated some 300,000 attended Saturday’s rally and march in downtown Chicago, exceeding last year’s attendance. City officials wouldn’t release official numbers Saturday.

On Sunday (1/21), Women’s March Anniversary: Power to the Polls comes to Las Vegas, NV – it’s also streaming live.

photos by James Richards IV