PORTSMOUTH — More than 1,000 women, children and men gathered in Market Square on Saturday for the first anniversary of the Portsmouth Women's March.
If the signs people carried were any indication, the rally was overwhelmingly against President Donald Trump and his administration. Among the messages were "You tweet, we roar;" "You're so vain, you probably think this march is about you;" "You can't fix stupid but you can vote it out;" "Not my Cheeto;" and "Twinkle, twinkle little czar – Putin put you where you are."
Other signs including one held by 9-year-old Mia Rosner of Bristol, Rhode Island, supported the rights of women. Her sign read "The question is not who is going to let me. The question is who is going to stop me?" Mia's mom Jennifer said they had been skiing in Conway and she looked for the closest event to bring her daughter to today.
"I am disgusted by what is going on and I want our voices heard," Rosner said. "I have two daughters and it seems like we are slipping backwards. Well, I want us to move forward."
"Equality is important," Mia said. "It's not OK the way some men treat women."
Gayle Russell of Hudson brought her Great Pyrenees dog Talulah for their second march in Portsmouth.
"I struggle with the attitudes I see going on in Washington," Russell said. "It seems they are against women, and everyone else who is different. I worked in mental health fields all my life and I say differences are valuable. People just need to be kinder and to listen."
Because of the large number of participants, an agreement was made with city officials that the event did not involve an actual march. Rather it was a gathering of like-minded individuals, carry placards, supporting each other and raising their voices in unison to support all women's rights. Emotions ran high as myriad speakers added layer after layer of grievances and calls to action.
Dr. Carmen Buford-Paige, retired from the University of New Hampshire, said now is a critical time for women to be heard.
"I am afraid this administration is developing a system that is anti-women, anti-Muslim, anti-everything," Buford-Paige said. "We have to stay in the streets. We need to call our congressmen. We need to get back to where we were moving forward, not backwards. This is our country and we are going to have to work very hard to take it back."
Buford-Paige, 85, said she was pleased to see men in the crowd supporting the cause. She noted her great-grandmother was the daughter of a slave. She spoke of the racism in her life, about not being able to eat at lunch counters or use public bathrooms.
"I have never seen anything like this administration, trying to bring us backwards," she said. Call your congressman, send letters to the editors and boycott businesses of this administration because money talks."
In a very moving moment, Buford-Paige sang "This is My Country." She was going to speak the words, but at the urging and cheering of the crowd, she broke out in song.
Suzanne Cyr of Rye has been a child and women's safety advocate for more than 20 years. She said one in two women experience some type of domestic or sexual violence and that is one too many.
"I am speaking for all women, including women of color and transgender women," Cyr said. "If we can have the conversation in a united way, I believe we can make a difference in many areas, including juvenile delinquency and teen suicide, the leading cause of death for our teens."
Cyr asked how many present had suffered hate, abuse, sexual assault, bullying or injustice, spurring cries of "Me too."
"Me too, times up, no more and us, too," Cyr said in response. "Women are called liars when they speak up. It's not just entertainers who are the silence breakers. It is doctors, lawyers, and it is all of us. We are so powerful and we can cause a paradigm shift."
Judy Stradtman echoed Cyr's words about the violence against women and the changes that need to be made.
"We live in a sexist, unfair society," Stradtman said. "Through these brave entertainers, the world stopped trying to silence us and had to listen. The world is breaking open and women can be seen. When you vote, vote for candidates who will stand up for women's rights, or run for office yourself."
Penny Brant, a student at Phillips Exeter Academy, spoke of subtle prejudice. As a student who came from Beijing, China, Brant said she learned that here, less is expected of girls simply because of their gender and that is why fewer young women seek careers in technical fields like STEM.
"I was the only girl on my math team," Brant said. "After meets, I was told I did pretty well — for a girl."
Nooran Alhamdam spoke as a woman of Arab descent, a Muslim and a feminist. "I am comfortable in all these roles because feminism needs to include all women everywhere," she said. "The time for a revolution is now. Sexism is borderless. Mothers begin revolutions and our children will change the world."
Gerry Cannon, a transgender woman from Somersworth, spoke of her struggle to accept who she was. Even as she did, she said she always championed women's rights.
"In the 60s and 70s, I struggled and was a broken individual," Cannon said. "I wanted to be like all the other girls, but I was a slender petite boy."
Cannon was 44 before she came out. In the meantime she lived as a man, marrying and having two daughters. She worked for Digital Corp. and eventually became a long-haul trucker, a transgender trucker in a male-dominated world where she said she lost her "male advantage."
"I fought for equal pay for women," Cannon said. "I fought for my daughters to have the same advantages as did men."
The speakers continued, including state Rep. Mindi Messmer, D-Rye, Roberta Stanhope and Ginny Towler. The Leftist Marching Band brought the day to an energetic close.