MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) - Thousands of people marched on city streets in Memphis, Nashville and other Tennessee cities on Saturday as part of a worldwide wave of demonstrations in support of women following the inauguration of President Donald Trump.
The marches in Tennessee came in conjunction with the Women’s March on Washington, where hundreds of thousands gathered to send Trump a message that they won’t let his agenda go unchallenged over the next four years. More than 600 “sister marches” were planned around the world.
Media outlets say the downtown Memphis march began at the D’Army Bailey Courthouse and ended at the National Civil Rights Museum.
In Nashville, the march moved from Cumberland Park to Public Square. In both cities, marchers called for more support for women’s rights, racial equality and ending violence.
The Tennessean reports that Nashville marchers expressed discontent with Trump’s inauguration and the changes his administration could bring.
“With the election, there has been so much negativity,” said Khalat Hama, 26. “I feel privileged to walk with people who walking for civil rights, for all the diversity in the United States.”
March co-organizers say the women’s march is just the beginning of more activism in Nashville.
“I’m more about what happens next,” march co-organizer Dee Clancy said. “And that’s harnessing the movement of the march into tangible action here in Tennessee and Nashville.”
People also rallied in Jonesborough. Organizers told WJHL-TV that the event was intended to bring women together in solidarity for the protection of their rights.
On Friday, state troopers arrested 10 people after protesters chained themselves to the doors of the state Capitol in Nashville. They also locked their arms together with duct tape wrapped around chicken wire and PVC pipes.
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