‘We’re not going back’: Crowd gathers at Riverfront Park to support rights for women, LGBTQ community weekend before Trump’s inauguration

Bundled in warm winter clothing, a couple hundred people Saturday in downtown Spokane joined thousands of others across the nation advocating for women’s and LGBTQ rights that many worry will be threatened under President-elect Donald Trump’s administration.

“Today, we mark the progress of women and LGBTQ communities across our city,” Margo Hill-Ferguson, an Eastern Washington University professor, told the cold crowd next to Riverfront Park’s red Radio Flyer wagon. “We honor the progress of women who walked before us. Our grandmothers, our great-grandmothers, they did the work.”

The rally coincided with the People’s March, formerly called the Women’s March, which drew thousands of people Saturday to Washington, D.C.

In Spokane, speakers celebrated women’s achievements and leadership advancements, voiced their support for abortion and LGBTQ rights and called for an end to violence against women.

“We’re not going back” was a popular sign and chant Saturday. Several others held signs that read, “LOVE,” in white letters against a red background. At least one person held an “ABORTION IS HEALTHCARE” sign, and another carried one that said, “TRUMP VOTERS CONNED AGAIN.”

Pride and American flags were commonplace at the park.

Some attendees held signs on the Spokane Falls Boulevard sidewalk for passing drivers, some of whom honked their horns. There did not appear to be counterprotesters or fights at the rally.

Pat Hughes, 69, of Spokane, said she braved the frigid temperature because she cares about women and their reproductive rights.

“I just care about people, and I don’t want to go back to the fascist, Nazi-like dictatorship that I’m afraid we’re going to have to endure soon,” she said. “I want people to have rights, especially people who are a little bit different than the white males who are running everything and the billionaires.”

Pia Hallenberg, who helped organize the rally, also worried about Trump’s presidency.

“I have lived with many election results, but this one hurt,” Hallenberg said. “This one hurt a lot, and I was really scared.

“We are not going back,” she continued. “We’re going to have to support each other for the next four years.”

Zander Ziolkowski walked around carrying a colorful flag with a peace sign on it. His sign said, “Make Love, Not Hate & Love is Power.”

The 23-year-old Spokane resident said he wanted to spread peace and love at the rally. He said everyone is different, but we’re all human.

“I like to support who we are as human beings,” he said.

Hill-Ferguson acknowledged local female leaders like departing U.S. Attorney Vanessa Waldref, Spokane County Commissioner Amber Waldref and Spokane Mayor Lisa Brown. She said more women and minorities need to be elected.

Hill-Ferguson, a Spokane Tribe member, is a former Spokane Tribe attorney and Coeur d’Alene Tribal Court judge. She is now a professor of urban planning and director of Native American Studies at EWU.

She called the 2022 U.S. Supreme Court ruling that overturned Roe v. Wade an “assault” on women. She said some maternity doctors are leaving states with abortion restrictions.

“This is creating maternity health care deserts, and this affects all of our access to women’s health,” Hill-Ferguson said. “It’s our body, it’s our choice. We must do the work.”

Emi Schwartz, community organizer for Planned Parenthood, told the stories of two women who died because of strict abortion bans and read the names of women across the country who lost their lives because of the bans.

After Schwartz read each name, the crowd shouted, “We fight for you.”

“Abortion bans are not just political fodder,” Schwartz said. “They are a public health crisis.”

Rev. Gen Heywood, pastor at Veradale United Church of Christ, also called for reproductive health care rights and encouraged people to support each other. Heywood’s church, which is attended by many members of the LGBTQ community, was vandalized in 2023.

She said everyone needs to come together, regardless of gender, abilities, skin color or religion – especially now.

“The myth that we can only help those like ourselves needs to and must stop, stop, stop,” Heywood said. The crowd then replied, “Restart together,” a phrase Heywood encouraged them to yell after she ended her sentence with the repeated “stop” chant.

She encouraged people to collaborate with different social justice groups, so they can help each other’s cause.

“We must stop, and start supporting each other in the many ways each of us are working on different facets of the diamond of justice,” Heywood said. “The lie that some people have to wait for liberty and justice must stop, stop, stop.”

Jeanette Hauck, CEO of the YWCA Spokane, which strives to eliminate racism and empower women, asked the crowd to commit to making violence against women a thing of the past.

“Too often, survivors of violence are blamed or silenced,” she said. “That ends today.”

She said Spokane County has one of the highest rates of domestic violence in the state.

“Let me make one thing clear: we are not powerless,” Hauck said. “The time for awareness has passed, and the time for action is now.”

She urged the crowd to write to elected officials.

“Let’s raise our voices and hold our leaders accountable,” Hauck said. “Strong laws mean nothing without enforcement. We need properly funded resources for survivors, we need legal support, we need shelters, and we need protection orders that work.”