More than 200 people joined the People’s March in Eureka at the Humboldt County courthouse on Saturday morning in the nationwide day of protest ahead of Trump’s second inauguration today. Eight years ago, more than 8,000 people appeared for the local Women’s March (now renamed as the People’s March) in Eureka, protesting Trump’s first inauguration in 2017.
“We’re here today thanking and acknowledging all the people who have been protesting for generations,” said local event organizer Cheryl Furman, of Kneeland. “We’re here also because we need to recruit new people to protest because it looks like we’re going to need to do it for a long time to come.”
Furman said no permit was needed as the city police just wanted an advance heads up on the planned route and asked that everyone stay on the sidewalk.
The march began after a welcome by Furman and local nonprofit Centro del Pueblo, as well as songs by the Raging Grannies. Participants walked a loop from the courthouse on Fifth Street to F Street, taking a right, and returning to the courthouse via Second Street. The marchers carried signs and chanted in support of the national movement’s goals around women’s and reproductive rights, LGBTQ+ rights, immigration, climate and democracy, in addition to criticism of Trump and his political positions. The marchers slowly disbanded after returning to the courthouse.
When asked what participating in the People’s March meant to her, Furman said, “It feels like something I can do to bring people together and let other people know that people are doing something.”
According to news reports, national People’s March organizers say they have moved past the internal tumult that once stymied the movement that began with a successful march eight years ago on the day after Trump’s first inauguration.
The new name reflects organizers’ attempts to broaden their base support and priorities to form a larger coalition they plan to mobilize for more days of action in the future.
“We’re recognizing the necessity of having a really broad-based coalition that is bringing people in,” said Tamika Middleton, managing director of the Women’s March, in an AP news story. “We’re asking ourselves how we build a big tent that allows for the kind of multiracial, multi-class, multi-gender mass movement that can make a difference politically in the coming years.”
This article appears in ‘A Big Family’.