The morning after the election, photographer and activist Dorie Hagler awoke to the sound of her daughters crying. Their reaction inspired her to take action, and she pledged to feature as many women as possible on her arts and activism platform me&EVE “I want to make sure all women have the opportunity to be seen and heard,” she said. “ We are not invisible.” So, on January 21, Hagler set out to shoot portraits of the mothers, daughters, and sons marching across the country in one of largest demonstrations an incoming administration has ever faced. Some marched for equality, others to send President Trump a message, and still others to teach their children that there’s a way to fight back. “I am going to the march because I want to grow up in a world that is fair to everybody,” Capri Gigante, who’s nine, told her. “Everybody’s voice needs to be heard.” Click through the slideshow below to see Hagler’s portraits.
Cybele Tamulonis and Evie B., 13
From: Blairstown, NJ Marched in: New York, NY Cybele: “My earliest childhood memory is being pushed by my mother in a stroller through Central Park with the Bread and Puppet Theater while we protested the Vietnam War. I can’t believe it’s 2017 and women’s rights and education are being targeted — really anything that pertains to equality will be targeted. We live in Blairstown, NJ, and this is a very conservative community. I am marching so that we can join other women and have our voices heard. I am going to ensure that Evie has full control over the rights of her body.” Evie: “I am marching because Trump is only supporting white working males. I think he will make more hate in the world and is trying to kick people out of the country because they are different. He is possibly taking away hate crime legislation. I live in a town surrounded by very conservative Christian people. It’s very stressful trying to figure out who I am in this place. I don’t feel safe to explore who I really am and who I want to be.”
Robin Miller and Addie Wiener, 12
From: Maplewood, NJ Marched in: New York, NY Robin: “When I was growing up, I thought I could be anything. I was a tape dubber at a communication company after college, and I was one of the few women with the company. I was the object of all the men’s attention. They would come in the room where I worked to ogle at me or ask me to stand up and give a spin so they could see what I was wearing. My bosses gave out my personal number to clients so that they could ask me out. The CEO of the company told me he was impressed with my work and wanted to have a meeting with me. When I met him, he physically attacked me. Fortunately I wasn’t raped, but I had no recourse for this sort of sexual harassment. I quit the next day. I felt so ashamed. I had thought I could do anything, but it turned out there were still impediments. So when Donald Trump talked about grabbing a woman by the pussy, it really struck me hard. I don’t want women to ever go back to that place, before Anita Hill. We need to band together and hold the line.” Addie: “All women and everybody should have the same rights as white Christian men. We don’t have to stand by and watch; we can stand up for what we believe in.”
Elizabeth Beskin and Corey Greenblatt
From: New York, NY. Marched in: Washington, D.C. Elizabeth: “Thirty years ago I attended the pro-choice march in Washington. The moment I heard about this march, I signed up and organized a bus to D.C. I am going again to support a woman’s right to choose but also because of the Affordable Care Act. My son has type 1 diabetes. He has a ‘pre-existing’ condition. I want to hold this new president accountable. I want to scream and shout with my gay, straight. and multiracial friends to let him know we will not be silenced.” Corey: “I am a 24-year-old type 1 diabetic. I am in a master’s program in public health at Columbia University, and I am living at home. My current job does not give me health benefits. The Affordable Care Act allows me to have health coverage and continue to work towards my master’s degree in healthcare policy analysis. My goal is to help design healthcare policies. I am going to the march because it is the right thing to do.”
Dawn Tucksmith (left); Annika Tucksmith, 21; Robin Tucksmith, 15
From: Chatham, NY Marched in: Washington, D.C. Dawn: “I am going because I think it’s important to let President Trump know we’re watching him. And we are going to be counted. And we are going to stand by the rights and the things that make America great.” Annika: “I am marching to add to the number of citizens that don’t agree with his ideology.” Robin: “I want to show him that there are a lot of us that do not agree with him.”
Deborah Koplovitz and Jasmine Niang, 15
From: New York, NY Marched in: New York, NY Deborah: “I am marching with my daughter to show our country and the world that not all Americans are in favor of the man arguably elected to be president. She and I are marching with the organization Eleanor’s Legacy to support the legacy of kickass, smart, amazing, intelligent, strong women. We had an extremely qualified female candidate, and the fact that our country is still so sexist that she couldn’t be elected is horrible. If we don’t teach our sons and daughters to stop that sexism in its tracks, then we aren’t doing our jobs as parents or as citizens. When I’m [arguing a case] in court, I get called ‘little lady’ all the time. It is really time for that to stop.” Jasmine: “It’s important to feel that you are a part of something. After the election we did a walk out at my school, and it was great to feel that sense of community. I think Trump should know that a lot of people don’t believe in him. Being groped is something I am already afraid of, and now this is my president. I watched Hillary Clinton’s speech after the election and when she said, ‘All the little girls out there watching…,’ I cried. I didn’t expect to be so emotionally impacted.”
Lindsay Schoen-Gigante (left); Charlotte Bennett Schoen (right); and Capri Gigante, 9
From: Maplewood, NJ Marched in: Washington, D.C. Lindsay: “Throughout the campaign so many upsetting things were being said. Having it normalized is what concerns me. It’s important for people to speak out for issues which affect us personally as well as affect our friends, neighbors, and even people we don’t know. Our country has come to a place that is so positive; it would be a shame if it moves backward.” Charlotte: “I am going to this march because I believe in democracy and I believe in this country. I believe there is room for more than just one side. I have friends from global projects that I work with who are terrified right now because of what is happening in the world and in our country.” Capri: “I am going to the march because I want to grow up in a world that is fair to everybody. Everybody’s voice needs to be heard.”
Maritza Silva-Farrell and Luca, 3
From: Brooklyn, NY Marched in: New York, NY Maritza: “Right now we are living a critical moment. We need to make it clear that the conservative agenda will undermine the rights of workers, women, and the climate — things that are crucial to our survival are under attack. I am marching with my son because I want to teach him that we need to stand up for what we believe in. If I didn’t march, I would be complicit in accepting values that go against humanity.”
Nahela Hadi and Gabriella DePlasco,12
From: Maplewood, NJ Marched in: Washington, D.C. Nahela: “I survived a double mastectomy, chemo, radiation, and ovary removal last year. But I am more afraid of what is happening in the world right now after this election than I was of my own breast cancer.” Gabriella: “I am marching to stand up for what I believe in and I believe in a happy country where everyone is accepted for who they are.”
Felicia Stingone and Francesca Rutherford, 13
From: Brooklyn, NY Marched in: Washington, D.C. Felicia: “l brought my daughter to show her that a democracy requires engagement and participation. Women’s rights are human rights. We marched for inclusion, compassion, equality, and peace. I marched today because I am not afraid to stand up for myself and others to help make change happen.” Francesca: “I marched for my generation because I am a young person who will grow up in a reality shaped by the 45th President unless I speak up now. I marched to be a part of the movement that prevents Donald Trump from making America his idea of great. I marched today to speak out for an inclusive America. Since I can’t vote yet, this march and others like it are the only ways I can participate in our democracy.”
Mindy Germain and Sophie Germain, 18
From: Port Washington, NY Marched in: Washington, D.C. Mindy: “Because of the times, we need to change our days. By going all the way to D.C. and walking the entire day, we are showing that we are willing to make a sacrifice and that we want to make change. Marching in D.C. links us to so many heroes who have marched before us. It links us to Martin Luther King Jr., Black Lives Matter, and the LGBT marches for gay marriage. There will be people from all over the country. There’s a hostility right now between the states, and now we will put all of that aside and together say what we are going to do now.” Sophie: “This isn’t a protest; this is activism. I am there for the women. I am not anti-Trump. This march is about empowering people. It doesn’t matter who you voted for; you go to show your support for women.”
