If you drove past Bayfront Drive and Ringling Bridge on Saturday afternoon, you might have been surprised to see thousands of people marching across the bridge, waving signs in support of women’s rights, humans rights and minority rights more generally.
More than 10,000 people turned out for Saturday’s Sarasota Women’s Solidarity March, according to organizers and law enforcement. The event was organized by local supporters in concert with the Women’s March on Washington that took place in D.C. that same day.
While the event drew large crowds–which city officials say may have been the largest they’ve seen in recent years, we wanted to round up some interesting tidbits from the march.
1. So. many. people.
It’s one thing to hear the words “more than 10,000 people” and quite another thing to see them. My Facebook Live below tries to show just how many people there were–a massive crowd in an area of Sarasota that’s already relatively populated on Saturday afternoons.
2. Stephen King
Yes, in a surprise cameo, author and Casey Key resident Stephen King took the podium to voice his support for women’s rights and his opposition to Donald Trump. Although we tried to catch him, organizers told us he left the march right after his talk.
3. This throwback sign from the ’60s:
Listen to this protester’s explanation for her sign. It’s a remnant from the ’60s, when she first started protesting. She didn’t think she’d still be protesting for similar causes.
These two women explain their signs. They've been protesting since the '60s + they're surprised they still have to pic.twitter.com/55eMJ9sXjq
— Elizabeth Djinis (@djinisinabottle) January 21, 2017
4. Men
Although this was a “Women’s March,” there were men there. And plenty of them. Many were husbands, brothers, or friends, but one man I talked to said he came by himself simply to support the cause. They had various reasons for attending the march, but here’s one:
One man's explanation for why he's at the march today: pic.twitter.com/vGnmm9u7F3
— Elizabeth Djinis (@djinisinabottle) January 21, 2017
5. PUPS:
In true Sarasota fashion, there were plenty of cute pups to go around–and reporter Carlos Munoz captured one of the cutest. Not all of the puppers sported signs like this one, but he seems pretty into it.
Man's best friend was out at the Sarasota #WomensMarch today. pic.twitter.com/mDrfcyfdW5
— Carlos R. Munoz (@ReadCarlos) January 21, 2017
For more of the coverage from the Women’s March in Sarasota and D.C., check out our live coverage, our Sarasota story and our preparation story.
