Women's March was life-changing experience for some

Lyanne Melendez Image
Tuesday, January 24, 2017
Women's March was life-changing experience for some
Hundreds of thousands turned out this weekend for Women's Marches in the Bay Area and for some it was a life-changing experience.

SAN FRANCISCO (KGO) -- Hundreds of thousands turned out this weekend for Women's Marches in the Bay Area and around the world.

For some it was a life changing experience, especially for those who flew to Washington D.C. to participate. The Women's March was by all means successful.

PHOTOS: Women's March in Oakland, San Francisco

1 of 18
A large crowd gathered in front of City Hall in San Francisco, Calif. for the Women's March on Saturday, January 21, 2017.
Tess Stevens

After getting little sleep, Deborah Greene says she feels energized after attending the Women's March in D.C. She says it's time to step out of her bubble and have conversations with people who think differently. "You can't kick somebody under the table to shut them up anymore, the truth needs to be out, you need to be able to talk about the truth in order to transcend them and that's the thing that will be different," Greene said.

"I believe we are at an inflection point in the history of our country," Senator Kamala Harris said.

There was an outpouring of support for women's issues this weekend, but James Taylor a political science professor says there is much work ahead. "What do I expect to come out of this? It all depends on what kind of networks and alliances the movement leaders have with each other in terms of whether they can sustain this," Taylor said.

Marches have a way of shaping America. After doctor Martin Luther King Jr's speech during the March on Washington in 1963, the activism continued and helped pass the civil rights act the following year.

In 1993, the march for LGBT rights eventually helped stop discrimination in the workplace and brought equality.

Sophia Chiang lives on the Peninsula and she took her daughter to D.C. and both came back with a goal. "Her goal over the next two years and our goal as a family is to change congress in the next two years," Chiang said.

Those returning say the march has given them hope where, until recently, there was fear.