Yesterday I participated in the Women's March in Los Angeles. It was a beautiful, uplifting, and wholly positive experience. There were 750,000 attendees (far more than anyone anticipated) and not a single arrest. I've never experienced a friendlier version of this city. When people needed to get past me they said, "Excuse me." and "Thank you!". That's not exactly the norm in LA.
I began the day meeting up with friends at the rally in Pasadena. It was a remarkably family oriented event. At one point a few mothers had to sit down on the curb to breastfeed their babies and I saw nothing but pride on their faces. Not a word was muttered nor an eye brow raised over this. We planned to walk to the Metro station and take a train straight to Pershing Square where the march was to begin. However the trains were so packed that each one that arrived at our platform was stuffed like a sardine can. Two of our group managed to squeeze in before the doors closed but the rest of us had to get a car to take us as close to the march as possible. I've never been so delighted to see so much traffic in LA. EVERYONE was trying to get there. By the time we arrived the streets were spilling over the main route and there were shoulder-to-shoulder crowds as far as the eye could see. I was worried I wouldn't get any good shots because the crowd was so packed I couldn't maneuver much at all. Luckily things started to move more fluidly and I was able to move around enough to start photographing!
The mood was determined, hopeful, wonderfully sassy, and remarkably friendly. It was overwhelming in every way. I laughed, I held back tears, I talked to strangers, I felt united. I can only hope that we keep this spark alive. As one of the chants goes, "THIS is what democracy looks like." I've never been more proud of you, Los Angeles.
I began the day meeting up with friends at the rally in Pasadena. It was a remarkably family oriented event. At one point a few mothers had to sit down on the curb to breastfeed their babies and I saw nothing but pride on their faces. Not a word was muttered nor an eye brow raised over this. We planned to walk to the Metro station and take a train straight to Pershing Square where the march was to begin. However the trains were so packed that each one that arrived at our platform was stuffed like a sardine can. Two of our group managed to squeeze in before the doors closed but the rest of us had to get a car to take us as close to the march as possible. I've never been so delighted to see so much traffic in LA. EVERYONE was trying to get there. By the time we arrived the streets were spilling over the main route and there were shoulder-to-shoulder crowds as far as the eye could see. I was worried I wouldn't get any good shots because the crowd was so packed I couldn't maneuver much at all. Luckily things started to move more fluidly and I was able to move around enough to start photographing!
The mood was determined, hopeful, wonderfully sassy, and remarkably friendly. It was overwhelming in every way. I laughed, I held back tears, I talked to strangers, I felt united. I can only hope that we keep this spark alive. As one of the chants goes, "THIS is what democracy looks like." I've never been more proud of you, Los Angeles.
