Demonstrators depart from the John Seigenthaler Pedestrian Bridge in Nashville, Tennessee. Photos / AP
Demonstrators depart from the John Seigenthaler Pedestrian Bridge in Nashville, Tennessee. Photos / AP
Ashley Donnert was unsure what to expect before she arrived for the Women's March in Wichita, Kansas.
And she was a bit nervous; in her deep-red home state, where pro-Trump slogans and merchandise are a common sight, she is largely outnumbered in her objection to US President Donald Trump.
Whatshe found were hundreds, if not thousands, of smiling marchers, chanting as they carried homemade signs demanding equal rights for women and protesting against the President.
"It was amazing. I was not expecting a turnout like that in Wichita," said Donnert, 27. "It was a day of hope. And I hadn't really felt that in a while."
The record-breaking participation in women's marches across the country yesterday has drawn attention to the sharp opposition facing Trump across liberal American cities, which pushed Democrat Hillary Clinton to a strong popular-vote victory against him even though he won in the decisive Electoral College.
But the demonstrations weren't just confined to liberal enclaves.
Protesters also gathered in red states and small towns across the country - in villages on the Aleutian Islands in Alaska, in conservative pockets across the heartland, in rural towns in states like Virginia, and down throughout the South.
In Anchorage, thousands of protesters gathered despite an unforgiving snowstorm and freezing temperatures, holding signs with slogans such as "My body. My rights. My choice". Farther north, in Fairbanks, thousands were undeterred by the extreme cold.