This collection consists of digital photographs, protest signs, oral histories, buttons and postcards pertaining to the Women's March on Washington that took place on January 21, 2017. The digital photographs were taken by Tulane University students who attended the March, and by Newcomb College Institute affiliates who also attended the march in Washington or in New Orleans.
The Women’s March on Washington collection documents the experiences of Newcomb College Institute students, staff, faculty and affiliates who attended the Women’s Marches in Washington D.C. and in New Orleans. On January 21, 2017, in response to the U.S. Presidential Inauguration, one of the largest protests in history took place in Washington and in many cities around the globe. The Women's March was organized to advocate for a wide range of political and social justice causes, including women’s rights, immigration reform, environmental conservation and climate change, and reproductive rights. The march in Washington drew between 400,000 and 500,00 participants. Satellite protests in several U.S. cities and world-wide brought the number of participants up to an estimated five million.
The Newcomb College Institute along with other campus departments sponsored a bus to transport fifty-five students and one faculty member to Washington D.C. for the Women's march. The journey took about twenty hours each way, and those who went slept for two nights on the bus in order to attend the March. Additionally, several NCI staff members, faculty, and affiliates attended the March on Washington, while others attended the concurrent march in New Orleans. Photographs in this collection preserve what students and staff saw and experienced at the march. After the students returned, oral history interviews were conducted in order to preserve their first-hand accounts of the march and their views on the U.S.'s political climate in the wake of the election.