Women's March on Portland facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Women's March on Portland |
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| Part of 2017 Women's March | |
Promotional artwork for the event
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| Date | January 21, 2017 |
| Location |
Portland, Oregon, United States
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| Goals |
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| Methods | Demonstration |
| Number | |
| Estimated 100,000 | |
The Women's March on Portland, also known as the Portland Women's March, the Women's March on Washington, Portland, and Women's March Portland, was an event in Portland, Oregon. Scheduled to coincide with the 2017 Women's March, it was held on January 21, 2017, the day after the inauguration of Donald Trump. The march was one of the largest public protests in Oregon's history with crowd estimates as high as 100,000 participants. No arrests were made during the demonstration.
Plans for the Portland march began with a small group of women in Eastern Oregon on November 11, 2016, following Trump's election. Thousands of people expressed interest in attending the event on its Facebook page just days after its creation. Organizers wanted to focus on women's rights but were criticized for not addressing issues of diversity. On December 27, Oregon's liaison to the national Women's March overtook the original event page. A new page was created, inviting participation by a group of women who had complained about the lack of diversity. Margaret Jacobsen became the march's lead organizer on January 6, 2017.
Demonstration
Motivation
Though not officially billed as an "anti-Trump" event by organizers, many participants marched to support women's rights and protest against Donald Trump.
Shasta Kearns Moore of the Portland Tribune called the demonstration "a reaction to the election of Donald Trump, and nearly all of the forces at work to upset politics in the 2016 presidential race were also in play in organizing the Portland march: social media, race, gender, the urban-rural divide, generational concepts of feminism and, most of all, lots of people feeling like they weren't being heard."
Organizers released the following statement about the purpose of the demonstration:
The Women's March on Washington, Portland is aligned with the mission of the national march, which is a national movement to unify and empower everyone who stands for women's rights, human rights, immigrant rights, civil liberties, and social justice for all. This is a non-partisan, permitted and peaceful event where we march in solidarity with our partners and children for the protection of our rights, our safety, our health, and our families -- recognizing that our vibrant and diverse communities are the strength of our country.
Logistics
Prior to the event, the Women's March on Portland was estimated to attract between 20,000 and 30,000 participants, potentially the largest demonstration in the city's history. More than 50,000 people had said they planned to attend on its Facebook page. Unlike some events held in conjunction with the national Women's March, Portland's protest was permitted and the parade route was made public beforehand.
Participants assembled near the Morrison Bridge at Tom McCall Waterfront Park, then marched through a 44-block area of downtown Portland, around noon, before returning to the park. Their route, estimated to be between 1.3 and 2.2 miles long, followed Southeast Naito Parkway to Jefferson Street, then Fourth Avenue to Pine Street. Marchers finished at Waterfront Park's Battleship Oregon Memorial and were mostly dispersed by 3:30pm.
Preceding the march, which was billed as a family-friendly event, was a rally for children and families, starting at 11am. Speakers followed, along with chants, songs, safety instructions for demonstrators with children. The protest was free to attend, but organizers were trying to raise $10,000 to cover event costs. Also preceding the march was a pro-labor rally at the South Park Blocks, after which 150 attendees joined the Women's March.
Impact
The march became one of the largest public protests in Oregon history. Following the protest, organizers said 100,000 people attended. Portland Police Bureau said the demonstration was "easily one of the largest marches ever in Portland", and reportedly estimated that between 50,000 and 100,000 people participated. News outlets published crowd estimates ranging from 70,000 to 100,000 demonstrators. The Portland Tribune said:
The rain-soaked event took on a festive atmosphere. So many people attended that it was impossible for everyone to see or hear speakers on the stage south of the Morrison Bridge. At 1:15 p.m., the official start time of the march, thousands were still crammed motionless in Waterfront Park.
Local media outlets reported that, unlike other protests leading up to the Women's March, there was a positive relationship between demonstrators and police officers. The Portland Tribune contrasted the march with the previous evening's protests, saying the Women's March had a "carnival atmospher [sic] full of smiles". Police said the march was "100 percent peaceful", during which no arrests were made. Sergeant Pete Simpson said, "This march was, we think, one of the largest in Portland history… and absolutely zero incidents or problems were reported. The credit really goes to the organizers for working with the city, meeting with the police bureau to help plan the route and allow us to get the proper resources in place."
According to TriMet, the public transit agency served "a record number of people in a short amount of time". MAX Light Rail riders experienced delays because of increased usage, and shuttle buses carried riders between the Providence Park and Pioneer Courthouse / Southwest 6th and Pioneer Place / Southwest 5th stations. TriMet's bus services were also impacted, with riders experiencing delays and detours to avoid large crowds. Increased demand caused the agency's ticketing app to stop working briefly just after noon. MAX Light Rail services resumed in the downtown core around 3:45pm. TriMet services were altered the day before the Women's March because of anti-Trump protests in downtown Portland, and the agency did not anticipate service suspensions on the day of the march in advance. Traffic backed up on Interstate 5 northbound, and was blocked by police on Southwest Naito Parkway near Tom McCall Waterfront Park and the Morrison Bridge.
Leadership
Organizers
Plans for a Portland demonstration were initiated by four women in Eastern Oregon on November 11, 2016, following the election of Donald Trump. One of the organizers created a Facebook page announcing the event, and within a few days, thousands of people expressed their interest in attending. 600 volunteers were recruited to help, but then the original organizers became frustrated when various groups began advocating for issues affecting them most. Leaders wanted to focus on women's rights; one of the original organizers said, "it didn't matter what color you were, who you identified with. It was about the bigger picture."
Despite their inclusion of a women to speak about rights for trans women, and adding to the program an opportunity for Black Lives Matter supporters to stage a die-in, the original organizers were criticized for not addressing issues of diversity. Online arguing resulted in moderators removing personal attacks and other comments. The conflict was not unique to Portland; Eugene resident Constance Van Flandern, who serves as Oregon's "official liaison" to the national Women's March on Washington, was told similar disputes were taking place in cities throughout the United States. Moore attributed the disagreements to "how different generations view feminism". Similarly, Rachel Monahan of Willamette Week said, "The conflict in Portland reflected strife that also occurred among national women's march planners: An older generation of feminists disagreed with younger activists about whether there could be unity on women's issues without reference to discrimination against racial, ethnic and sexual identities."
On December 27, Van Flandern "stage[d] a hostile takeover" of the event's Facebook page and created a new one under the name "Women's March on Washington: Portland". Her first nine invitations were extended to women who had previously complained about the lack of diversity. After the organizers in Eastern Oregon asked for help, Van Flandern appointed new administrators to the original Facebook group, removed blocks on previously banned individuals, and changed its graphics to mirror the new event page. In response, thousands more people said they planned to attend the demonstration. Margaret Jacobsen, a 29-year-old activist and writer who reportedly identifies as a nonbinary gender polyamorist, joined the campaign on January 5, 2017, and became the march's lead organizer the following day. Rebekah Brewis, who serves as executive legal director of PDX Trans Pride, Nora Colie, Erica Fuller, and Kat Lattimer also served as organizers.
The new organizers sought to make the march inclusive for people of any age, gender, or physical ability, and released a statement which read: "The Portland team has also made sure to have diverse representation, and is working hard to make sure the Portland march is an event of inclusion, and that the voices of women of color are heard and centered during the event." The women, along with Mayor Ted Wheeler and Police Chief Michael Marshman, attended a press conference on January 18, during which Brewis commented on the importance of "self-policing".
Politicians
Wheeler called the march "an incredible day for Portland" and said: "This has been a very positive, family friendly event. A lot of people out here expressing their First Amendment rights and doing so in a peaceful way. There is a strong value in this community to be engaged, active and expressive, and I strongly support that. We support peaceful protest." Earl Blumenauer, the U.S. Representative for Oregon's 3rd congressional district, attended the march instead of Trump's inauguration. Senator Ron Wyden attended Trump's inauguration and the Women's March in Washington, D.C.
