UPDATED: Saturday, Jan. 20 at 4:51 p.m.

It was Saturday morning, about an hour before the scheduled start of the Syracuse Women’s March, and Roseanne Olszewski and Donna Moore had just finished fixing up a sign in front of a bar on the city’s North Side.

“I’d want to salt off some of these areas,” Moore told Olszewski, pointing to ice on the ground. “I don’t want anyone to slip.”

About 10 people were gathered in the chilly parking lot of Laci’s Tapas Bar, where Saturday’s march would start.

Moore, who co-founded with Olszewski the organization coordinating the event, said she didn’t expect as big a turn out as last year’s Women’s March.

Olszewski and Moore are two founders of New Feminists for Justice, a group formed after President Donald Trump’s election. The group has organized multiple protests in Syracuse, including last year’s Women’s March and a local March for Science.

This year marks the 100-year anniversary of women’s suffrage in the United States, and Moore said she thought people would travel west to march in Seneca Falls, which is known as the birthplace of the women’s rights movement.

“We’re still expecting about 200 people,” Moore said at about 9:15 a.m., when there were no more than two dozen people in the parking lot. And, by the time the march started, more than 200 people had flooded into the staging area.

Dozens of women donned pink, pointy-eared “pussyhats” —  caps used to protest Trump’s vulgar comments in an Access Hollywood tape leaked before the 2016 election. The hats have become a symbol of the Women’s March.

“This is what a feminist looks like!” : Protesters are chanting prior to the start of the march. pic.twitter.com/juvuEM9rAA

— Jordan Muller (@jordanmuller18) January 20, 2018

Though Moore said the event was not meant to be political, protesters waiting to march chatted about Friday night’s federal government shutdown. A woman passed around a petition denouncing Trump’s ability to use nuclear weapons, and some held up signs mocking Rep. John Katko (R-Camillus).

Karen Creme, who attended last year’s Women’s March, said she decided to march again because she’s still angry about Trump’s election. Her sign, which read “can’t shut us down,” was meant to criticize Trump’s inability to keep the federal government running, she said.

“I have a daughter,” Creme said. “That’s why I’m out here.”

Rachel May, a Syracuse University staffer who announced her state Senate candidacy Thursday, was among the speakers who addressed the marchers before the event. Colleen Deacon, who ran and lost to Katko in the 2016 congressional race, spoke on behalf of New York state Gov. Andrew Cuomo.

The protesters took to the street at about 10:45.

The march begins … pic.twitter.com/gZzxQarwsj

— Jordan Muller (@jordanmuller18) January 20, 2018

“We’re marching in solidarity,” said Annie Courto, as she walked down Hawley Avenue. Courto said she felt “empowered” by attending the protest.

Women made up the majority of marchers, but a handful of men and children also attended the protest.

Kaitlyn McNeil said she was marching to support equal rights for all people, regardless of their gender or race.

“It’s a bit overwhelming at times, that there’s so many people around all supporting the same thing,” McNeil said. “But it’s fun to be here.”

The brief march ended about a third of a mile east of the bar, at the ArtRage Gallery. The march’s organizers planned poetry readings, speeches and music for those who were able to cram into the small building’s crowded gallery.

Saturday’s march was the first Liz Dennison had attended, she said, walking away from the gallery. Dennison said she felt the need to take part in the second Women’s March because she wanted to show her support for its ideas.

“I think it’s always good to put your feet where your mouth is,” she said.

CORRECTION: In a previous version of this post, Roseanne Olszewski was misnamed. The Daily Orange regrets this error. 

Published on January 20, 2018 at 3:31 pm

Contact Jordan: jmulle01@syr.edu | @jordanmuller18