Hundreds Crowd Ruth Steinkraus Cohen Bridge For International Women's Day March Saturday
Protesters numbering nearly 400 gathered in Westport on Saturday for a rally drawing attention to a variety of issues, most of which had the Trump administration as a common demoninator.
Photos and Story By J.C. Martin For WestportLocalPress.com Click on an image to enlarge and open gallery.
Among the group of protestors were, (row 2, left) current State Senator Ceci Maher of the 26 district, which includes Westport standing next to the man she replaced, which most Westporters will recognize, former State Senator Will Haskell, who represented the district from 2019 to 2023 as the youngest State Senator in the country during that time period. He defeated an established Republican candidate in a somewhat surprising victory, flipping one of the most entrenched seats in the Connecticut state Senate from red to blue, and went on to be re-elected. He chose not to run for a third term, choosing to attend law school and had graduating magma cum laude from Georgetown University in 2018.
Organizer Bean Corcoran told Westport Local Press, “I organized the International Women’s Day rally on the Ruth Steinkraus Cohen Bridge … through the Women’s March group. I had 259 people signed up & we counted 375 people on both sides of the bridge.” People began arriving before 11:00 AM, the start time, and by 11:30 or so, the crowd had swelled to at least 375 or more before it concluded about 1:00 PM.
A rare moment when the bridge was not filled with traffic. The souds of the cheering of the crowd was echoed by the near constant sound of honking horns, encouraged by the demonstrators
Photos and Story By J.C. Martin For WestportLocalPress.com Click on an image to enlarge and open gallery.
The signs, as always for these rallies and demonstrations, were creative and imaginative, and addressed a multitude of issues of concern to the demonstrators. Organizer Corcoran tole Westport Local Press, “It was an emotional day for many of us to have gathered together in unity against fascism, the current administration & the ideas behind DEIA being used as a cudgel in our current political climate.”
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At left, a Basset Hound appears forlorn, perhaps concerned about the future, or perhaps wondering why folks stopped giving him treats. Some of the demonstrators reprised signs they had held onto since the first Trump inauguraton. At right, three women dug through their closets and found the hand crocheted “pussyhats” that were first worn by the thousands at demonstrations in 2017 in Washington D.C., and across the country to protest the 2016 election. Jayna Zweiman and Krista Suh co-created and co-founded Pussyhat Project in November 2016.
Photos and Story By J.C. Martin For WestportLocalPress.com Click on an image to enlarge and open gallery.
Photos and Story By J.C. Martin For WestportLocalPress.com Click on an image to enlarge and open gallery.
Every topic currently under discussion was represented at Saturday’s rally from Medicaid, Medicare and Social Security potential cuts being executed by DOGE, to long-time issues of contention such as abortion and climate change, to what many here see as the assault upon democracy and the rise of an oligarchy led by Musk and the administration.
The only thing that drew attention from the yelling of the protesters were the blaring of car horns. One semi drive hauling Pepsi joined in the cacophony prompting one person to comment, maybe it’s because Trump is known to prefer Coke and not Pepsi..
Photos and Story By J.C. Martin For WestportLocalPress.com Click on an image to enlarge and open gallery.
The line of protestors stretched nearly across the entire Ruth Steinkraus Cohen bridge.
Photos and Story By J.C. Martin For WestportLocalPress.com Click on an image to enlarge and open gallery.
Many drivers crossing the bridge showed their enthusiastic support as they saw the stream of messaging, by sound their horns, waving, smiling and giving gestures of support. There were a couple here and there who were just as clear in expressing their disapproval.