Thousands of Michiganders flock to Women’s March on Lansing
Thousands gather outside of the Michigan State Capitol Building for the Women's March on Lansing in Lansing, Mich., on Saturday, January 21, 2017. (Photo by Brittany Greeson/GroundTruth)
LANSING, Mich. — As the fog lifted over Michigan’s capital this morning, thousands of people began pouring out of tour buses, cars and minivans onto the grass in front of the state Capitol building. The Women’s March on Lansing was one of more than 600 “sister marches” held across the country to coincide with the Women’s March on Washington, and an estimated 8,000 people turned out.
Married couple Jon and Marta Kermiet, both 66, held each other as they poked their heads above the crowd to hear the speaker. They’ve raised three boys and one was able to join them at the march, as another attended a march in Portland, Oregon.
“It feels like deja vu,” Marta Kermiet said. “We’re frequently finding ourselves at things like this and after raising children, you really have to pay attention to where the world is going.”
For 70-year-old Carolyn Dack Maki of Stevensville, Mich., the idea of marching for women’s rights in 2017 was frustrating. “It’s so insulting, we just gotta do something,” Dack Maki said. “Our rights are going to be gone – healthcare, women’s rights, equal pay, all if it. … This cannot be.”
After a number of speakers addressed the crowd, the demonstrators started their march around the capitol building, chanting in unison and holding up homemade signs.
Amid a crowd of thousands, Emma Ilg, 4, of Novi, Mich., holds a sign as she’s propped up on a railing for the Women’s March on Lansing outside of the Michigan State Capitol Building in Lansing, Mich., on Saturday, January 21, 2017. (Photo by Brittany Greeson/GroundTruth)Michigan gubernatorial candidate Gretchen Whitmer speaks to a crowd of thousands outside of the Michigan State Capitol Building for the Women’s March on Lansing in Lansing, Mich., on Saturday, January 21, 2017. (Photo by Brittany Greeson/GroundTruth)Monica Silva, 49, of East Lansing, Mich., sits on her husband’s shoulders during the Women’s March on Lansing outside of the Michigan State Capitol Building in Lansing, Mich., on Saturday, January 21, 2017. (Photo by Brittany Greeson/GroundTruth)Jennifer Day, 49, of Ann Arbor, listens to speakers for the Women’s March on Lansing outside of the Michigan State Capitol Building in Lansing, Mich., on Saturday, January 21, 2017. “I’m definitely feeling inspired. I want to put a voice to what kind of change we want to see,” Day said. (Photo by Brittany Greeson/GroundTruth)Lisa Mapp, 54, and marital partner, Chris Smith, 44, of Mason, Mich., embrace while listening to speakers during the Women’s March on Lansing outside of the Michigan State Capitol Building in Lansing, Mich., on Saturday, January 21, 2017. The pair said they came to the march in hopes of taking power back, rather than feeling powerless. “It’s really wonderful seeing this many people,” Smith said. (Photo by Brittany Greeson/GroundTruth)Young women sit along the steps outside of the Michigan State Capitol as a representative of Planned Parenthood speaks about the possible funding losses under the new presidential administration, during the Women’s March on Lansing in Lansing, Mich., on Saturday, January 21, 2017. (Photo by Brittany Greeson/GroundTruth)Mille Wrench, 72, of Kalamazoo, Mich., listens to speakers during the Women’s March on Lansing outside of the Michigan State Capitol Building in Lansing, Mich., on Saturday, January 21, 2017. (Photo by Brittany Greeson/GroundTruth)Sharmin Begum, 23, right, and Tahrima Khanom, 26, left, both of Hamtramck, Mich., laugh at a speaker’s remarks during the Women’s March outside of the Michigan State Capitol Building in Lansing, Mich., on Saturday, January 21, 2017. (Photo by Brittany Greeson/GroundTruth)People wearing pink hats gaze at attendees from a nearby parking garage during the Women’s March outside of the Michigan State Capitol Building in Lansing, Mich., on Saturday, January 21, 2017. (Photo by Brittany Greeson/GroundTruth)Thousands gather outside of the Michigan State Capitol Building for the Women’s March on Lansing in Lansing, Mich., on Saturday, January 21, 2017. (Photo by Brittany Greeson/GroundTruth)Annie Stumps, 11, left, and Madison Houy, 12, right, play rock-paper-scissors outside of the Michigan State Capitol Building during the Women’s March in Lansing, Mich., on Saturday, January 21, 2017. (Photo by Brittany Greeson/GroundTruth)A sign leans against a tree outside of the Michigan State Capitol Building as attendees begin to return home from the Women’s March in Lansing, Mich., on Saturday, January 21, 2017. (Photo by Brittany Greeson/GroundTruth)
