On Jan. 21, more than three million people took to the streets as protests erupted across the country, making it the largest one day protest to ever take place in U.S. history. The day after Trump’s inauguration, women’s marches broke out across the globe, sending a message that their rights are not up for grabs. LHS senior Callie Burris was among those crowds, standing up for the rights everyone deserves.

“We flew into D.C. on Thursday night after semester tests and then left on Sunday,” said Burris. “There was a rally that started at about 10 a.m. and went until two p.m. or three p.m.. The meeting place was near the capitol building but I didn’t know where the stage was because people took up at least ten blocks of space. The march was supposed to start at one but because there was so many people there were some logistical issues, but I think I was marching for about an hour.”

Most people never get to say they were a part of history, but that is not the case for Burris. Being a part of the largest protest in history is something she will never forget.

“It was very inspiring,” said Burris. “The speakers were magnificent and had some really great things to say, and also seeing the support from everyone. Since there was so many people there wasn’t really a march route, so it was just tons of people flooding downtown D.C. and there were people cheering from the nearby buildings. It was all so moving.”

Among the millions of people who participated in the marches, each one had a different reason on why they were there. Whether it was to stand up for their beliefs or to bring awareness to a wide range of topics, everyone, including Burris, marched for a reason.

“I marched because I felt personally compelled to,” said Burris. “I felt like if I was going to be afraid of people’s rights being taken away and of people being hurt then I might as well do something about it instead of just being afraid and doing nothing.”

The marches that made history were just the beginning of a campaign that hopes to unify millions around different issues. Burris hopes these marches set the stage for even greater things to be accomplished.

“I think even if the marches didn’t have an impact on government, they at least had an impact on how society views how we deal with our government,” said Burris. “The organizers of the marches have other things planned for the future, so hopefully this can coalesce into something very effective.”