By Ryan Persaud and Alexandra Sosik

Capital News Service

Thousands of demonstrators took to the streets of Carytown last Saturday for the second annual Women’s March, recalling demonstrations a year ago when hundreds of thousands of people gathered in Washington and cities around the nation and the world to protest President Trump’s inauguration and the GOP’s stance on issues such as women’s rights and immigration. Some called the 2017 event the largest single-day protest in U.S. history.

On Saturday, hundreds of demonstrators in Richmond held signs that ranged from mocking the president to promoting equality. They chanted phrases such as, “This is what democracy looks like,” “Women’s rights are equal rights” and “Coexist.”

Kim Young, a demonstrator who missed the Women’s March last year because of health issues, said she was excited to attend this year’s Richmond event.

“It’s about freedom, choice, ‘Love is Love,’ (and) showing the president that not all Americans are in agreement with him,” Ms. Young said.

The Richmond demonstration was one of many across the country Saturday. While the Richmond march had no formal speakers, Saturday’s event in Washington featured a collection of speakers, including U.S. Sen. Tim Kaine of Virginia, who ran as a vice presidential candidate on the Democratic ticket against President Trump, House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi of California and Chris Carson, president of the League of Women voters. They urged women to get involved politically.

Brigette Newberry, a demonstrator who attended last year’s Women’s March in D.C. and a counterprotest against the Confederate statues on Richmond’s Monument Avenue in September, said it is necessary to resist the current administration.

“I feel like it’s important that women unite,” Ms. Newberry said during the Richmond march.

Kathe Wittig, a retired Virginia Commonwealth University faculty member who participated in anti-war protests in the 1970s, said she worries that President Trump’s policies will set society back decades.

“We have to let the world know that we’re not going to sit back,” Ms. Wittig said. “He is a disaster.”

Gov. Ralph S. Northam and his wife, First Lady Pam Northam, joined event organizers in leading the march that started on Cary Street near Thompson Street and headed east nearly to the Boulevard before returning. Gov. Northam helped carry a banner that read, “Women’s March RVA.” The group of marchers was so large that at times, some of the group was still eastbound while others were returning to the starting point.

Mary Leffler, one of the organizers of the event, attended the 2017 Women’s March in D.C. As the anniversary approached, she looked for whether others locally were commemorating that demonstration.

“I sought to see if there was already a march happening, and there wasn’t. So I made a few phone calls, helped decide this location and then just started spreading the word,” Ms. Leffler said.

She expressed surprise at the turnout.

“We’ve had estimates of a little over 3,000,” she said. “We’re thrilled.”

Mark Loewen, a children’s book author, brought his family with him, including his 5-year-old daughter.

“We talked about girls can do anything that boys can do, and that girls should be making the same amount of decisions that boys make,” Mr. Loewen said. “We’re so excited about women’s voices getting stronger, and we need them to be stronger.”

Andrea Lancaster, president of the National Organization for Women’s Richmond chapter who attended the march last year in Washington with a few board members, said she was pleasantly surprised by the Richmond turnout.

“It’s exciting to see how much momentum the movement still has,” she said.

NOW and other groups are urging the Virginia General Assembly to ratify the Equal Rights Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. The ERA would explicitly state that women have the same rights as men.

ERA supporters believe that if two more states ratify the amendment, it will be added to the Constitution. There is a legal debate about that because the deadline to ratify the ERA has passed.

According to Ms. Lancaster, Virginia has become a focus of ERA proponents because Democrats have gained power in the General Assembly. Last fall, the Democratic Party picked up 15 seats in the House of Delegates; however, Republicans still hold a 51-49 majority.

Ms. Lancaster said a constitutional amendment guaranteeing women equal rights is needed.

“If you ask a lot of people in the streets, they think we already have that,” she said. “But we don’t. There is no constitutionally protected equality.”

CNS’ Logan Bogert and Aya Driouche contributed to this report.