According to KSDK, thousands carried their experiences with injustice across the length of Market St. on Saturday, Jan. 20. TKC talked with a few of these many voices and asked them why they came out on such a cloudy, chilly morning. Here’s why they marched.

“I’ve gotten a lot more signatures than I was expecting this early in the morning,” Alex Rutherford, a volunteer gathering signatures in support of Planned Parenthood, said. “As intersectional feminism grows, it shows that we’re supporting all sorts of people and standing up against many injustices. Planned Parenthood is more than just providing abortion services, it’s something where women and men can have their basic healthcare needs met.”

“We came to the first [Women’s March in St. Louis], and me and my wife participate in the St. Louis Resist Group,” Jerry Husgen, St. Louis resident, said “We just get out there with our friends and march. We resist, resist this administration.”

“We really think that the problems that Trump is causing can’t be fixed just by replacing him as an individual,” Erika Roedl, Washington University student and member of the International Marxist Tendency (IMT), said. “If Trump resigned tomorrow, Mike Pence would take his place. The system of capitalism is causing all these ills. The entire working class should join forces to dismantle this very small number of people that are currently in power of the country.”

“What it means to be a feminist is believing that women should be treated equal to men,” Zoe Martin (left), KHS graduate, said. “It means that women are just as powerful as men and can do amazing things and we deserve the chance to fight for ourselves.”

“In California, we were impressed by 6 million women all coming together in unison as one idea,” Ronnie Morrisette, San Francisco resident, said. “We came here to see how we can take the ideas you guys have here in Missouri and bring them back to California. So far I’ve seen people, women and men of all colors, coming together, and that’s how things change. By people putting down their biases and working together.”

“His sign says ‘Dump Trump,’” Julie Villa, Milo’s mother, said. “He loves dump trucks and he was so excited to come here with his sign.”

Learn more about the 2018 St. Louis Women’s March by reading Richard Pfeifer’s feature and photo gallery.