Protest Chants From The Women's March On Washington & From Sister Marches (January 21, 2017)

Edited by Azizi Powell

This pancocojams post provides a compilation of some protest chants that were heard at the Women's March On Washington and/or at sister marches and rallies that were held that same day (January 21, 2017).

If you attended one of these marches or rallies or if you've read about or watched videos/news reports of these marches/rallies, please add to this compilation for the historical record.

I'm particularly interested in documenting chants from sister marches/rallies outside of the United States as I have no examples of those chants.

The Addendum to this post showcases several additional videos of the Women's March On Washington & sister marches throughout the world.

The content of this post is presented for historical, cultural, folkloric, and political purposes.

All copyrights remain with their owners.

Thanks to all those who organized and attended these women's marches/rallies. Thanks to all those who are quoted in this post and thanks to the publishers of these featured videos.

Click http://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2017/01/the-womens-march-on-washington-january.html for a companion pancocojams post entitled "The Women's March on Washington January 21, 2017 (with a full live stream, selected comments & time stamps for certain speakers & musical performances)"

Also, click http://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2014/07/examples-of-black-civil-rights-chants.html for a pancocojams post on "Examples Of Black Civil Rights Chants & Black Power Chants". Additional pancocojams posts about protest chants can be found by clicking the "African American protest chants" tag below or by using this blog's search feature.

Note that I used the tag "African American protest chants" to refer to the 1960s civil rights protests and don't mean to imply that only African Americans used those chants then or now.

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EXAMPLES OF CHANTS FROM THE WOMEN'S MARCH ON WASHINGTON & FROM SISTER MARCHES/RALLIES (January 21. 2017)

These news articles and videos are given in no particular order. Numbers for these sources are assigned for referencing purposes only.

Source #1:
From https://www.nytimes.com/2017/01/21/us/womens-march.html Women’s March Highlights as Huge Crowds Protest Trump: ‘We’re Not Going Away’ by Amemona Hartcollis and Yamiche Alcindor, January 21, 2017
..."The singer and actress Janelle Monae highlighted the issue of police violence, leading the crowd in a chant of “Sandra Bland! Say her name!”, a reference to the high-profile case where a black woman died in police custody in Texas after being arrested in 2015....

She then brought the microphone to each of the women in “Mothers of the Movement” who had joined her onstage. One by one, they joined in the chant, each inserting the name of her child who had died at the hands of the police.*".
*[Pancocojams Editor: Actually Janelle Monae led those at the rally in an adaptation of her 2015 song “Hell You Talkin Bout”. Her segment of the rally begins at 4:00:17 in this life stream: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rp1FyjB8WXQ&t=9094s Women's March on Washington 2017 (FULL EVENT) | ABC News]

....Here’s a rundown of scenes across the country. First up? Location: Washington. Time: 4:43 p.m.

Overheard Chant: “Yes we can” as people walked past the White House…...

Location: Phoenix. Time: 1:01 p.m.

Notable Chant: “Tell me what America looks like! This is what America looks like.”...

Location: Washington. Time: 3:10 p.m.

Notable Chants: “We are the popular vote!”....

Location: New York City. Time: 1 p.m.

Chant: “Don’t take away our ACA” and “Who’s the boss? We are!”
-snip-
ACA = Affordable Care Act (also known as “Obamacare”)

...Location: Denver. Time: 10:22 a.m.

Popular chant: “March! March! March!”....

Location: Washington. Time: 10:30 a.m.

Popular Chant: “Thank You.” Women were chanting this to the organizers of the march as they kicked off the day’s events."...

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Source #2
From https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rp1FyjB8WXQ&t=9094s Women's March on Washington 2017 (FULL EVENT) | ABC News

Chant in front of the White House
[call & response]
"Whose house?
(our house)"

**
[Unison chant during march]
"We ARE the popular vote."

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Source #3
From http://people.com/politics/womens-march-on-washington-america-ferrera/ Women’s March Storms Washington: ‘The Revolution Starts Here,’ Says Madonna by Tierney McAfee, Updated January 21, 2017 AT 7:30PM EST
..."Alicia Keys revved up the crowd shortly before 2 p.m., leading marchers in a chant of “feet on the ground, not backing down” and singing a few lines from her hit “This Girl Is On Fire.”...

Later, Madonna energetically addressed the crowd, exclaiming, “welcome to the revolution of love! To the rebellion. To our refusal as women to accept this new age of tyranny.”

“The revolution starts here,” she also said.

“My question to you today is, Are you ready?” she continued. “I said, Are you ready? Say, Yes, we’re ready!

....One crowd of marchers making their way across the Potomac River from Virginia chanted and sang as they walked: “All I want to say is Trump don’t care about us. All I want to say is Trump don’t care about us.”...

Other marchers chanted in sing-song: “Hands too small, can’t build a wall.”"
-snip-
"Hands too small" refers to the meme that Donald Trump's hands are very small in proportion to his body. "The wall" refers to the proposed wall between the USA and Mexico that Trump has pledged to have built and -eventually- paid for by the Mexican government.

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Source #4
From http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/maryland/bs-md-baltimore-sister-march-20170121-story.html
An estimated 5,000 people sing, chant, demonstrate at Baltimore's sister Women's March by Lorraine Mirabella
..."We are the ones who make change happen," organizer and retired pastor Donna Martin yelled into a megaphone, fighting to be heard as part of the crowd sang "We Shall Overcome."* "We are here to say that we are not going back. We are here to say that we want a kinder, gentler functioning government."...

Terrace Brooks, a 15-year-old sophomore from Patapsco High School and Center for the Arts, came to the demonstration with his mother and then felt compelled to take a turn at the megaphone, leading chants of "Immigrants are welcome here. No hate. No fear."."..
-snip-
*"We Shall Overcome" is considered to be the anthem of the 1960s United States civil rights movement. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rp1FyjB8WXQ&t=9094s Women's March on Washington 2017 (FULL EVENT) | ABC News (towards the end of that live stream) includes an adapted version of that song that was sung by some protesters at the Women's Washington March included a verse about Donald Trump. The transcription of that song is included in the pancocojams companion post about the Women's marches whose link is given above.

Also, certain other videos of these marches document "We Shall Overcome-and not any other civil rights song- being sung by January 21, 2017 Women's march protestors.

**I wonder if that chant actually begins with the "No hate. No fear". Those words beginning the chant would fit the protest chant pattern better than the longer words beginning the chant. Also, note the similar chant given in Source #5.

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Source #5:
Over two million people flood US cities for women's marches


AFP news agency Published on Jan 22, 2017

More than two million people flooded US cities as women opposed to Donald Trump led a peaceful, stunning rebuke against the new US president that was echoed in sister protests around the world.
-snip-
Chant examples from this video:

[unison chant]
Hey hey ho ho
Donald Trump has got to go

"Say it loud
Say it clear
Immigrants are welcome here"
-snip-
I couldn't understand the first part of the second line and the video ended before the entire chant was repeated. However, I extrapolated the first three words in that second line from its close similarity to the "Immigrants are welcome here. No hate. No fear." chant noted in Source #4.

**
Call: "Show us what democracy looks like
Response: "This is what democracy looks like"

**
[unison chant]
"Our bodies
Our choice"

**
[unison chant]
Pussy power!

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Source #6
What We Saw at Women's March on Washington



ReasonTV, Published on Jan 21, 2017

On January 21, an estimated 500,000 people attended the Women's March in Washington, D.C. as a protest against incoming President Donald Trump.
-snip-
Chant examples from this video:
[unison chant]
"Hey Hey
Ho Ho
Donald Trump has got to go"

**
[unison chant]
"This is what democracy looks like"

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Source #7
Hundreds of thousands turn out for Women's March on Washington



The National Published on Jan 21, 2017

Massive turnout forced organizers to re-route planned march toward the White House as demonstrators took to the streets in cities around the world
Click here for the full story: http://cbc.ca/1.3946578
-snip-
Chant examples from the march and rally

[unison chant]
"Fired up!
Ready to go."

**
[unison chant spoken in a sing song voice]
"This is what democracy looks like"

**
[at Washington D.C. rally singer Madonna:
"Say this with me 'We choose love'
Response- We choose love!"

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Source #8
Women's Marches held from coast to coast



CBS Evening News Published on Jan 21, 2017
More than 600 "sister marches" to the Women's March on Washington were planned across the U.S. and around the world. Organizers estimated three million people would march worldwide. Mark Strassmann reports.
-snip-
Chant examples from this video:
[unison chant]
"Love trumps hate"

**
[unison chant said in sing song voice]
"We’re here to fight
so don’t take back our rights"

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Source #9
From http://www.nbcnews.com/storyline/inauguration-2017/women-s-marches-held-around-world-solidarity-d-c-protest-n710331
"Women’s Marches Held Around the World in Solidarity With D.C. Demonstration
by Erik Ortiz and Daniella Silva
"In a global exclamation of defiance and solidarity, millions rallied at women's marches in the nation's capital and cities around the world Saturday to send President Donald Trump an emphatic message on his first full day in office that they won't let his agenda go unchallenged.

"Welcome to your first day, we will not go away!" marchers in Washington chanted."

....Denver
"Larry Ryckman ✔ @larryryckman
People chanting: "Love not hate, makes America great." #WomensMarchdenver"...

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Source #10
From http://www.dailykos.com/story/2017/01/23/1624189/-Women-s-March-on-America-My-DC-experience
Women's March on America - My DC experience By amyo28, 2017/01/23 · 17:29
..."We walked around the outskirts and had fun looking at signs and joining in cheers. “This is What Democracy Looks Like,” and “Whose Streets, Our streets.”...

We went up to the Ellipse, where there was small fence (with openings) creating a barrier between it and the Mall, and a fairly large crowd. We hung out by the fence and watched the marchers come in, did some more chanting. “Whose House, Our House,” “This is What Democracy Looks Like.” We went inside the fence and decided to get up closer to the White House before it got more crowded.

After chanting a bit more, we decided happily to call it a day and head to Union Station to get dinner.

But leaving the march might have been the best part. As we were walking down the street, a man was chanting, Her Body, Her Choice, and then all the women would chant back, My Body, My Choice. It was the most moving part of the event for me."...
-snip-
This article also includes a photograph what that writer wrote may be "a strong contender for best sign" at that march. The sign has a drawing of Dr. Seuss's cat in the hat character with the words written in the style of Dr. Seuss's book Green Eggs And Ham:
"I do not like you down my shirt.
I do not like you up my skirt.
I do not like you near my rump
I do not like you Donald Trump"
-snip-
The words after "I do not like you" were written in bold font.

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ADDENDUM - Additional Videos & Photographic Article Of Marches/Rallies (January 21, 2017)
Example #1: Women's March: Massive Protests Across U.S., World



Wall Street Journal Published on Jan 22, 2017

The Women's March on Washington on Saturday extended across the U.S. and around the world. Hundreds of thousands of demonstrators took to the streets to rebuke President Trump on his first full day in office. Photo: Getty Images

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Example #2: Women's Marches Around The World Draw Millions



The Huffington Post, Published on Jan 23, 2017

Millions of protesters marched worldwide on Saturday, Jan. 21 in support of women's right, minority rights and against President Trump's rhetoric and policies. From the Women's March in Washington D.C. to the countless sister marches that took place on every continent around the world, crowds exceeded expectations. If you marched, comment below to tell us about what it meant to you.

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Example #3:
From http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/37-stunning-photos-from-womens-marches-around-the-world_us_58811ee7e4b096b4a23090f8
38 Stunning Photos From Women’s Marches Around The World
Solidarity on seven continents.
01/22/2017 07:36 pm ET

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Example #4:
From https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2017/01/21/world/womens-march-pictures.html?_r=0
Pictures From Women’s Marches on Every Continent
Crowds in hundreds of cities around the world gathered Saturday in
conjunction with the Women’s March on Washington. UPDATED JAN. 22, 2017

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