Marches in isles draw thousands despite weather

Thousands of women, men, children, grandchildren, state legislators and City Council members turned out in the Saturday morning rain to march around the state Capitol in a sign of solidarity with millions of others around the country pushing for women’s rights — and, in many cases, to rebuke the presidency of Donald Trump.

Barbra Pleadwell, spokeswoman for the Oahu Women’s March, estimated the turnout at 3,000 to 5,000 and said thousands more were reported on Maui.

Before the march and speeches began, organizers were hoping that 2,500 would show up at the Capitol, where parking was tight for a Saturday and rain fell throughout the morning.

Pleadwell’s crowd estimate might have been on the conservative side.

In front of Iolani Palace, marchers were packed 10 people wide as they headed down King Street.

Police had to control traffic along Punchbowl, Beretania and King streets as marchers worked to contain themselves on sidewalks and street corners.

The marchers carried signs reading “Resistance is Fertile,” “Punani Power,” “A Woman’s Place is in the Resistance,” “No Country for Old White Men,” “We Shall Overcomb,” “Repeal and Replace Trump” and “America Needs a Leader Not a Tweeter” — along with others that were sometimes laced with profanities.

As Beyonce’s “If I Were a Boy” played on the public address system, Shannon Cristobal, 41, of Makiki, sat with her 13-year-old daughter, Christian, and said: “I want to encourage her. I want her to know that her voice matters.”

Christian, an eighth-grader at Mid-Pacific Institute, said, “I believe all woman should have equal rights.”

Many in the crowd wanted to send a powerful message to the Trump administration — along with an equally powerful message to young people in the islands, especially girls.

State Rep. Della Au Belatti (D, Moiliili-Makiki-Tantalus) wore a pink T-shirt that read, “I Stand with Planned Parenthood,” and marched with her daughters, ages 11 and 6.

Au Belatti wanted her daughters “to see people who came out to support women’s issues,” adding, “I want them to stand in solidarity with women across the country.”

State Rep. Cynthia Thielen (R, Kailua-Kaneohe) stood on stage with a sash replicated from the women’s suffrage movement of a century ago that read, “Votes for Women.”

Thielen said her daughter, state Sen. Laura Thielen (D, Hawaii Kai-Waimanalo-Kailua), and Laura Thielen’s daughters — ages 20 and 23 — were participating in the much larger women’s march in Washington at the same moment.

Her granddaughters, Cynthia Thielen said, “are not being quiet,” adding, “They’re speaking out. I am so proud of my granddaughters back in Washington.”

She said: “We struggled in the ’70s. I’ve seen the struggles. I hope the Trump administration hears us and I say that as a Republican.”

Cathy Betts, executive director of the Hawaii State Commission on the Status of Women, called the march around the Capitol “a baptism” for many who endured the rain.

“We’re here to uplift each other,” Betts said. “But we will also resist all efforts to turn back the tide on women’s rights.”

There were rainbow-colored braids, posters and hair decorations, along with plenty of pink and purple worn by people of both genders and all ages.

Lots of fathers showed up with their children, including state Sen. Josh Green (D, Naalehu-Kailua-Kona), who brought his 10-year-old daughter, Maia, and 6-year-old son, Sam, who rode on Green’s shoulders.

Green, a medical doctor, said his grandmother had been the president of a Planned Parenthood chapter in Pennsylvania.

By joining thousands of others in Honolulu — and millions of others on the mainland — Green said he hoped his children learn that “all women are respected in every way.”

Not everyone was critical of Trump and his administration.

“I’m here as a positive, rather than as a negative,” said Raenell Bergantz, 70, of Kailua. “I’m not anti-Trump. I’m here for the positive march issues.”

Others were not as careful with their words for America’s 45th president.

“Trump is anti-woman,” said Khara Jabola, 30, of Kihei, Maui, one of several co-chairwomen of the Oahu March. “Donald Trump is harmful to minorities, immigrants and women.”

Jabola said she hopes Saturday’s march “helps build a women’s movement in Hawaii.”

She wore a handmade, yellow dress emblazoned in black with the word “Resist” across her chest.

Jabola said she expects the nationwide march will send the message to Trump that “we are going to fight you every step of the way,” adding, “There will be resistance.”

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