美国国家公共电台 NPR The 2020 Women's March Drew A Smaller, But Passionate Crowd（在线收听）

The 2020 Women's March Drew A Smaller, But Passionate Crowd

LULU GARCIA-NAVARRO, HOST:

The fourth annual Women's March returned to more than 200 cities around the world yesterday. NPR's Isabella Gomez Sarmiento reports on what drew crowds this time to Washington, D.C., for the anti-Trump demonstration.

ISABELLA GOMEZ SARMIENTO, BYLINE: Protesters filed into Freedom Plaza, blocks from the White House, more than an hour before the Women's March was set to begin. As light snow began to fall, people chanted on their way to the planned revel.

(SOUNDBITE OF PROTEST)

UNIDENTIFIED CROWD: (Chanting) Hey, hey, ho, ho. Donald Trump has got to go.

GOMEZ SARMIENTO: This year's march followed a period of controversy for the feminist organization. Three out of four founding members stepped down in 2019, following allegations of anti-Semitism. But with a new board and a new focus in place, the demonstrations seemed to draw renewed support this time around.

Eighteen-year-old Nadrat Amos said she felt turned off by the march in the past for its lack of inclusivity. But in 2020, she said she's had a change of heart.

NADRAT AMOS: I also believe that it's important for certain people - especially black people, black women - to be very visible and fight for visibility in these spaces. This is my march as much as it is any other person's march.

GOMEZ SARMIENTO: The protest route circled around the White House as people carried signs for climate change, immigration and LGBTQ rights. Some people also referenced the recent passage of the Equal Rights Amendment in Virginia.

(SOUNDBITE OF PROTEST)

UNIDENTIFIED CROWD: (Chanting) ERA in the U.S.A. ERA in the U.S.A.

GOMEZ SARMIENTO: Still, fewer people turned out for this year's march on Washington than in the past. The permit filed with the National Park Service allowed for a maximum of 10,000 protesters. But even so, Becky Halbe said the energy still felt as high as in other marches that she's gone to.

BECKY HALBE: We can't give up.

GOMEZ SARMIENTO: Halbe used to work at the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. She said climate change is one of her biggest concerns.

HALBE: There are other things we can do, but this is important to show that we do care.

GOMEZ SARMIENTO: After arriving at the White House, protesters chanted the articles of impeachment before the crowd began to disperse.

Isabella Gomez Sarmiento, NPR News, Washington.