Two buses of women from Duval, St. Johns and Clay counties left Jacksonville for Washington, D.C., on Friday night for Saturday’s Women’s March on Washington.
They’re joining more than 2,500 buses headed there for the event.
“I woke up, like a lot of people, after the rhetoric and the divisiveness of the election just feeling a little bit hopeless,” said Women’s March on Washington Florida chapter founder Emma Collum. “I dove straight into this movement. And through this movement, I have met such wonderful neighbors and allies.”
The march is also about showing support for advocacy and resistance movements that defend diversity of religion, race, gender identity and more.
The idea of the march is to send a message to the new administration and to the world that women’s rights are human rights.
Many Florida marchers are going to be wearing orange sashes to represent the Sunshine State.
For those who can’t make it to D.C., there will be a march on Saturday at 1 p.m. at the Jacksonville Landing.
St. Augustine marchers will also gather at noon for a 1 p.m. march on the east side of the Bridge of Lions.
“We want to stand up. We want to make a statement. But we don’t want to necessarily be shaking our fist at the opposition. We want to just make sure that our voices are heard and that the legislators know that we’re watching and paying attention,” said Amy Goldin, who’s one of the coordinators for the St. Augustine event.