When the People’s March was announced for January 18th, 2025, the Communist Party USA immediately mobilized all districts to join the already strong contingent in D.C. The march would cap the strong, 60-day response to Trump’s election victory, which focused on strengthening our coalitions and building a united front against his fascist agenda. It would be a show of strength against Trump and the MAGA movement’s threat of mass deportations, attacks on civil, labor, and reproductive rights. We would stand with over a hundred working class organizations and parties who have been involved in the struggle for freedom, democracy, and equality.

The Connecticut contingent grew slowly at first, but as soon as a few volunteers had given it roots, it grew quickly. In the end, 21 adults and two toddlers, mostly Communist Party and Young Communist League (YCL) members, but also a few party allies, were on the train to the march. Donations from all across the state flew in to support the group, including various clubs and many party members who themselves could not go. So the group became more than the sum of its parts as it was carried by the spirit and enthusiasm of the entire state party.

On the train to D.C., curious bystanders and fellow passengers, noticing the Connecticut Communist Party stickers our group was wearing, asked us questions and engaged with us on the topic of resisting Trump and building democracy and socialism. In the concrete cavern of the D.C. metro at union station, a very kind and friendly worker helped us with directions. She said she would have joined the march if she wasn’t working, but she would participate by helping people get there.

The morning of the march was grey, cold, and damp. That, however, did not reflect the mood inside D.C. There was a certain excitement flowing through the city, as we could see people walking toward the metro stations, wearing pink hats, some carrying banners. The Connecticut contingent met up for a final meeting before the march, reaffirming the importance of this event in our work, the importance of discipline and safety, especially with the ever-present threat of right-wing violence. Then, we were off to Farragut square where our Communist Party contingent would meet and where the march would kick off.

As we got closer and closer to the kick off point, the metro filled up with people dressed for the march. We walked over to Farragut square where people converged from every direction. The square itself was a hectic, energetic mess of people, groups, and vendors selling People’s March shirts and Fuck Trump buttons and pink hats. Every corner of the square was active with speeches and journalists speaking to cameras and doing interviews. The Communist Party contingent was already there with banners splayed out on the grass, as if waiting for the 21 of us to help raise them. The biggest one, painted by the D.C. YCL, said “Our freedom, our future. We are not going back.” It summed up what people were feeling that day on the eve of Trump’s second term.

As the march formed, the size of the march became apparent. The width of 17th street was taken up by the mass of people. The march itself began slowly. There was a period of standing and waiting. The cold drizzle returned. Then, we began moving. The feet moved and the energy returned. The rain no longer bothered us. Chants of “No Trump, no KKK, no fascist U.S.A.,” “The people united will never be defeated,” and “Free, Free Palestine!” resounded through the streets. People held signs that said “Stop mass deportations,” “Feminists vs Fascists,” and “Stop Arming Israel.” We marched along with them, chanting slogans of freedom, watched by occasional miserable counter-protesters, who were rightly ignored.

The march, which according to organizers was over 50,000 strong, felt like a repudiation of what January 6th represented. When Trump and his cronies lost the election, they called on their fascist militias to try to overthrow the government in a violent coup. The people lost this election, but we chose the path of democracy and building a mass movement to bring about the change we want to see. This event did not reach the heights of the Women’s March eight years ago when half a million people descended on Washington, but this feels like a more mature, more intersectional, and more united movement, made up of serious organizers and activists, who better understand what it takes to defeat the far right. The march brought together a very diverse group of people and tied together diverse causes with a common thread of building people power against Trump’s corporate agenda. It was especially encouraging how visible the Palestine cause was. Peace was one of the big issues of the day.

This was the theme of the rally at the reflecting pool of the Lincoln Memorial where the march ended. Speakers at the rally included Ben Jealous, former President of the NAACP and current Executive Director of the Sierra Club, who spoke about the fight for a greener and healthier Mother Earth. The march revealed a growing melding of climate change and environmental activism with the anti-war peace movement as we fight to live in healthy, sustained communities.

Beth Miller, Political Director of Jewish Voice for Peace spoke about joining the march with the Palestinian freedom movement within the broader anti-war contingent to make clear that all of our liberations — from the U.S. to Palestine and everywhere in between — are connected, and that facism both at home and abroad requires a big broad united front.

Analilia Mejia, co-executive Director of the Center for Popular Democracy, warned against apathy in the face of defeat, reminding attendees that freedom and justice is not a final destination, but a practice that requires us to wake up everyday and make a decision to either uphold democracy and a government for the people or sit it out altogether. Several speakers called on members of Congress to demonstrate the same level of courage that our communities have long demonstrated in the global fight for justice and liberation.

As we boarded the train back to Connecticut, we reflected on the march and our experiences there. There was a sense of awe that comes from being part of something bigger, a movement, a historic event. It felt like this was the culmination of the years of organizing being done by labor unions and peace organizations.

The election did not go our way, and we have to reckon with that. But the work that was done to build coalitions, to build unity against the power of the capitalist class, has not dissolved into nothingness. It’s still there and at the march it was palpable. Our contingent also came away with a renewed sense of purpose and comradeship that comes from accomplishing something together. We were proud to have made this trip a success for the Connecticut district and the national party.

The opinions of the author do not necessarily reflect the positions of the CPUSA.

Images: CPUSA at the Jan. 18, 2025 People’s March in D.C. (CPUSA)

Comments