A group of women from North London who are “absolutely fed up” after the election of Donald Trump are helping to organise a women-led march to show solidarity with “people feeling nervous”.
One is mother of three and flower shop owner Louise Chamberlain, who organised the march with seven other women late last year after despairing at the “negativity” of Mr Trump’s victorious election campaign and the “dark rhetoric” entering politics in general.
Named Women’s March on London, the demonstration – on January 21, the day after Trump’s inauguration as US president – will begin at 12pm near the US Embassy in Grosvenor Square and end in Trafalgar Square.
Ms Chamberlain, who is from Kentish Town, said: “Lots of my friends are black and gay and they’re scared.
“It’s about showing solidarity and spreading positive values because everything has been so negative lately.”
The 44-year-old, who is also worried about Britain’s vote to leave the European Union, added: “I’m not from any political party or anything like that – this isn’t about politics.”
Similar marches are taking place in dozens of cities across the world and have won the backing of celebrities such as actor Ian McKellen and organisations like Amnesty International.
Another organiser of the demonstration, Hackney-based Emma McNally, stressed that everybody is welcome to attend – from “all sides of the spectrum”.
She said: “It’s easy to say we are just a bunch of hippies but that’s not true. We are making real connections.”
Ms McNally said Amnesty International, the National Union of Students, Greenpeace, Black Lives Matter and Pride London are among the organisations showing support.
“We’ve also contacted the Right to see if they will join us – this is not about certain political parties,” she said.
The number of attendees should be in the thousands, Ms McNally added, a showing she hopes will “galvanise” people.
She said: “People getting offline and coming together is a pretty heartening and encouraging experience – it’s inspiring.”
But for Jehane Markham, also from Kentish Town, the march is about grieving for the “lost humanity and potential that has been swept away by the Trump administration”.
She added the march is also an attempt “wake up our government to the seriousness of the situation and to stop the normalisation of the power-crazy billionaire who has won the American election.”
If you intend to go to the march, organisers request that you register so they have an idea of how many people to expect.
To do so, and for more information, head to womensmarchlondon.com
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