Hoosiers around the state gathered Saturday to march one year after the Women's March on Washington.
Bloomington
About 200 residents gathered Saturday at the Monroe County Courthouse in preparation for the one-year anniversary of the Women's March on Washington.
The Bloomington Resistance March was part of a statewide effort focused on bringing power to the voting polls. Organizers encouraged participants to register to vote if they haven't already.
However, women of all ages and backgrounds were not the only ones at the march. Among the crowd were husbands, representatives from local and statewide human rights organizations and even Bloomington mayor – John Hamilton.
Dena El Saffar attended the national march in D.C. last year. She says she didn't want to travel this year because she wanted to add to the numbers of the local movement.
"And also kind of have some face to face time with who ideologically were kind of one the same page," El Saffar. "I mean there's multiple issues for the women's march and some people feel more strongly about one thing or the other and I just feel like it's kind of like my tribe."
Linda Ebright also attended the march in Bloomington. She says the main topic she wants to see improve during 2018 is women's healthcare.
"I'm a nurse, and I work with mothers and babies," Ebright says. "And so I would like to see more women in politics and I want to see our rights as women to make our personal private health care decisions protected."
Indianapolis
More than a thousand people showed up Saturday for the Women's March in Indianapolis. A diverse line-up of speakers focused primarily on this year's midterm elections.
The march was called Reclaiming Our State: Power to the Polls. An undercurrent of resistance to the Trump administration ran throughout. Speakers covered a wide variety of topics, including sexual harassment, immigration, transgender rights, and institutionalized racism.
Savannah Pearlman is communications director for Women's March on Washington - Indiana and says the march aims to unite marginalized groups.
"One thing, going into this midterm election cycle, is recognition that we can all power to the polls if we unify and pull together and show a united face, and get everybody registered and out to vote," Pearlman says.
The group, which is now a nonprofit, hosted booths for merchants, nonprofits and political candidates.
Pearlman says what started last year as a single protest has since become a movement. But she says they haven't decided whether to make it an annual event.
