About 5,000 protesters gathered and marched Saturday in Cambridge, Massachusetts under the same belief: women's rights are human rights and human rights are women's rights.
Last year, around 100,000 marched and rallied in Boston Common, but a different group organized this year's event, which took place on the Cambridge Common from 1 to 3 p.m.
This year, the rally was buoyed by the ongoing #MeToo and Time's Up movements, which were sparked last fall by the Harvey Weinstein sexual misconduct allegations.
"Rise up!" protesters chanted on Saturday while waiving their signs.
State Attorney General Maura Healey and former Cambridge mayor Denise Simmons were among those who spoke at the event.
Zayda Ortiz, a spokesperson and organizer for Saturday's event, said they intended to make this year's rally more inclusive with a diverse group of speakers.
"We’re including issues like Islamaphobia and how it affects women and the intersectionality of the issues that this recent administration has brought to the forefront," she said.
U.S. & World
One of the statements of value for the march is a resistance to the Trump Administration.
"Seeing the power of the people when people join together and uniformly say this is not OK. It can happen and that’s the wonderful thing about this country," Ortiz said.
Ortiz marched last year in Boston and hoped Saturday’s march will have an effect on others like last year's experience did for her.
"I hope that people are there to listen. People are there to be peaceful and people take away a message and get civically involved," Ortiz said.
Sen. Ed Markey and Elizabeth Warren were not able to attend due to the federal government shutdown, which started just after midnight.
