Get the best experience and stay connected to your community with our Spectrum News app. Learn More
Continue in Browser
Get hyperlocal forecasts, radar and weather alerts.
Please enter a valid zipcode.
Save
PORTLAND — Hundreds are expected to gather in Portland Saturday for a march to stand up for democracy and emphasize the power of local connection.
The People’s March 2025 — formerly known nationally as the Women’s March — is set for 11 a.m. and is one of more than 100 demonstrations scheduled for cities across the country.
Portland march organizer Dania Bowie said she expects anywhere from 500 to 1,000 people.
“Post election, it was very motivational to be doing something local,” she said. “This is a response to the intentions set forth by the incoming administration to ensure we continue to have a democracy.”
Eight years ago, shortly after President-elect Donald Trump was first sworn in to office, millions of people took the streets for the Women’s March in January 2017.
At the time, organizers hoped it would become “a sustained campaign of protest in a polarized America, unifying demonstrators around issues like reproductive rights, immigration and civil rights,” according to the New York Times.
Since then, in June 2022, the Supreme Court overturned the federally protected right to an abortion, sending the issue back to the states.
The march this year will focus on efforts to combat “rising fascism, misogyny and threats to democracy,” according to a press statement.
“This march amplifies the principles of trans-inclusivity, anti-racism, intergenerational respect, and reproductive justice while rejecting violence and oppression,” the statement notes.
For groups like Planned Parenthood of Northern New England, marching with others is a chance to bond over shared goals and send a message to elected leaders, said Nicole Clegg, CEO and president of the group.
“As we are going into a new administration who has demonstrated hostility to these rights, it’s important that we make it clear there’s a strong amount of support,” she said. “It affirms to elected leaders whether they are in Augusta or Washington DC, this is important to people.”
For Bowie, it’s also a chance to work toward protecting rights at the local level and inspire people to make connections.
“Everybody has a unique talent and skill to make better communities,” she said.
Attendees are encouraged to gather at 10:30 a.m. in Monument Square, with the march to begin at 11 a.m. Then at 11:30 a.m., speakers will address the crowd from the city hall steps.
Scheduled speakers include Portland City Councilor April Fournier, Bre Danvers-Kidman of Maine Trans Net, Destie Hohman Sprague of the Maine Women’s Lobby and Sarah Almatri of the Coalition for Palestine.
After the speeches, people are invited to gather at Portland High School for networking.
