Equipped with handmade signs, a group of 55 women (and men) met outside Hana Foods at 3:45 a.m. on the morning of Saturday, Jan. 21 to start their day by boarding the Bushwick Bus headed to Washington D.C. for the Women’s March on Washington.
Organized by Bushwick studio proprietors Nina Keneally and Cibele Vieira, the Bushwick Bus was one of 1,200 charter buses to make the journey to D.C. from around the country; Bushwick was further represented by activists boarding the Bushwick Bitch Bus.
“We felt it vital to make our voices heard and our faces seen. How better than to assemble with other Americans in our nation’s capital on inauguration weekend?” Keneally told Bushwick Daily.
Everyone on the Bushwick Bus had their own inspirational reasons for marching with a crowd estimated to have included half a million people; we wanted to highlight just a few of those stories and profile some of the most interesting protesters we met on Saturday. We hope these stories inspire you to take action and keep this movement going.
Name: Leyla Tulun
FROM: Bushwick
Why She Marches: For human rights
Name: Kat
From: Buffalo, N.Y.
Why She Marches: “Just to be fabulous and fuck Trump.”
Name: Michelle Schillinger-Gutierrez
From: Philadelphia
Chanting: This is what a feminist looks like
Why She Marches: To support the rights of immigrants
FRom: New Mexico, Arizona, and Spain
Why they MARCH: “We knew we had to all come out when we heard about the march. We’re a group of lifelong friends; one of us even flew in from Spain.”
FROM: Baltimore
WHY SHE MARCHES: “For the entirety of intersectional feminism”
Names: Zazie Beetz and David Rysdahl
From: Harlem and Bushwick
Why they march: “This is where the world is changing.”
From: Portland, Ore.
Why she marches: Her mom and five friends flew in for this to be a part of history.
NAME: Andrea Fletcher
FROM: Washington, D.C.
CHANTING: “We don’t want your tiny hands anywhere near our underpants!”
WHY SHE MARCHES: “We’re 600,000 people getting our lives back.”
NAME: Anita Enriquez
JOURNEY: Took a bus from Detroit and hasn’t slept in 2 days
WHY SHE MARCHES: It’s important to show power in numbers.
CHANTING: “Water is life, women are life!”
Organization: Indigenous Women Rise
Why she marches: “Women are sacred.”
Why she marches: Her body is her right.
Why she marches: To represent the pussyhood
FROM: Washington, D.C.
Names: Marina Salamon, Kelly Miller, Zoe Johnson
From: Bushwick
Why they march: “My great-great grandmother marched for Suffragette right;, I’m continuing the legacy,” says Kelly (center)
From: Austin, Texas
Organization: Performance and activist group, The City Says So
Why They March: To help people express their hopes and fears
Names: Lori Levy and Tori Purty (with 3 friends)
why lori marches: “I’m wearing a pro-choice sash I marched with in 1989. I never thought I would have to wear it ever again.”
Why tori marches: “I have disabilities and chose to have a daughter with Down Syndrome, and Lori has a son with autism. But we’re pro-choice, our body is our right.”
Group: Friends since the 90s
From: Bushwick
Why they march: Women’s rights are human rights.
Name: Julie (with a friend)
From: Washington, D.C.
Why she marches: “We have to live in this city with this horrible person who’s taking away our rights.”
Name: Kelly
from: Arkansas
why she marches: “I’m wearing 30 bandanas, each for a woman who couldn’t be here today, all have messages on them. After the march, I’ll send the bandanas back to each woman so they can all have a part of history.”
From: Washington, D.C.
Why they march: To show women are powerful
Name: Naomi Scher
From: Bushwick
Why she marches: “For female solidarity, to represent an attempt at intersectional feminism”
CHANTING: “Love not hate! That’s what makes America great!”
From: New Jersey
CHANTING: “Say it loud say it clear: immigrants are welcome here!”
Why they march: Their bodies are their choice.
FROM: Washington, D.C.
Why he marches: For his mom
from: Washington, D.C.
Why she marches: “I support this!”
Chanting: “We won’t go away! Welcome to your first day!”
Chanting: “He’s racist, he’s sexist, he doesn’t represent us!”
If you marched this weekend in D.C., NYC, another city, or virtually anywhere, make sure your attendance is counted by texting “count me” to 898-00. You can also take immediate action by calling members of Congress today. Call 202-224-3121 to reach an operator at the Capitol switchboard who will direct you to senators and your local representatives.