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Magdala Klein moved to Syracuse from Florida two years ago because she felt her rights were under attack. With recent restrictive legislation targeting abortion rights, voter registration and free speech, Klein didn’t feel comfortable living in her home state.

As President-elect Donald Trump’s inauguration approaches on Monday, the SUNY ESF sophomore said she feels those rights are once again at risk.

Klein was one of over 300 participants at Saturday’s “Our Lives on the Line” women’s rights march, where central New Yorkers marched from the James F. Hanley Federal Building to the United Methodist Church protesting inequality, rhetoric and legislation about women that Trump has pushed. Marchers carried signs protesting Trump’s second presidency and promoting reproductive and bodily autonomy rights.

“To be in a group of women and feel energized as this new administration that comes in that may potentially attack the rights of women is just a really good feeling,” Klein said. “A lot of us fight for our rights in our own personal life, so to have us all come together, just shows what we can all do when we come together.”

The Women’s March was first held in 2017, following Trump’s first inauguration. With an estimated 500,000 participants in Washington, D.C. alone and 4 million nationwide, the first march holds the record for the largest single-day protest in U.S. history.

Syracuse was among the many cities that participated in the first marches, seeing over 2,000 demonstrators in 2017. Organizers have since held the event annually, but shifted its messaging this year, rebranding as the People’s March to promote intersectionality and unity.

“This is a beautiful place for women to come together. No matter where you’re from, no matter what party you support, no matter what your socioeconomic status is, we’re all women,” Ali Attia, a political science and law, society and policy major at Syracuse University, said.

Donna Moore, co-founder of the Syracuse group New Feminists for Justice and one of the event’s organizers, said recent judicial decisions like the reversal of Roe v. Wade are cause for concern. These decisions make protesting even more important, she said.

Throughout the march, speakers and attendees emphasized the importance of young people, including SU and ESF students, participating in and leading the movement.

Solange Jain | Photo Editor

The march began at the James F. Hanley Federal Building and ran until United Methodist Church. Following the demonstration, protestors gathered in the church for a series of speakers discussing key issues.

Following the march, keynote speaker May Sabe Phyu spoke at the church, stressing the importance of collective action by women on the global scale. As an exiled immigrant from Myanmar and internationally-recognized human rights advocate, Phyu spoke about her experience as an activist living under an authoritarian regime.

After helping organize an International Women’s Day demonstration in her home country in 2021, which was shut down by Myanmar’s military government, Phyu had to go into hiding. Later that year, she left Myanmar and moved to upstate New York with the help of Cornell Law School.

“I am so thrilled to see you all here because you are making change, not only for your country, but also, because America is a leading country, for our country from the developing world,” Phyu said. “We are hoping and looking toward your democracy and advancement of human rights.”

The gathering also featured presentations from other community members including Ruthie Angrand, a poet and director of communications and marketing for the city of Syracuse, who shared a poem about the historical experience of African American women in the United States.

Titled “What Black Women Cannot Make,” the poem described the experiences of women of color during American slavery, the suffering caused by disproportionate infant mortality rates and the gender pay gap.

“What we can’t make is interest on the bounced check that we’ve received. If we can earn significant means, the world cannot make it make sense how a group of people denied continue to participate in a government who delays and defaults on their dreams,” Angrand read.

After learning about the march from a professor, Sofie Daniszewski, a freshman studying sociology and citizenship and civic engagement at SU, gathered a group of friends to march alongside her.

Daniszewski said it was important for students to participate in movements that matter to them and wanted to show her support as a member of the community.

“It’s really important that students get involved where they can, and I think things like this happening around the nation are really important,” Daniszewski said. “If there’s the opportunity, I think everybody should have the chance to exercise their First Amendment rights and speak out about what they think is right.”

Published on January 18, 2025 at 8:11 pm

Contact Henry: hdaley@syr.edu