Thousands attending women's march, rally in Philadelphia
PHILADELPHIA (WTXF/AP) - Thousands of people are gathering to take part in the Women's March on Philadelphia, a day after Republican Donald Trump's inauguration as president.
The march -- starting at Logan Square at 10am -- is being held in solidarity with similar events taking place in Washington and around the nation. The march will proceed a half-mile down the Benjamin Franklin Parkway to Eakins Oval, where a rally is scheduled to start at noon.
Organizers in Philadelphia say it's a demonstration "to send a bold, nationwide message to the new presidential administration on its first day in office that women's rights are human rights, and they cannot, and should not, be ignored."
They also mention supporting and unifying America's diverse communities following a presidential election in which many groups were demonized but say, "The spirit of the event is not protest, and not anti-Trump, but rather it's an affirmative message to the world about women's rights."
They note just over a century ago, in 1911, Philadelphia was home to the first-ever, open-air suffrage meeting.