Thousands In Austin Expected To Participate In Local Version Of D.C. Women's March

AUSTIN, TX — In Austin, sisters are doing it for themselves.

Thousands of marchers comprising primarily women from Austin will be marching to the state Capitol on Saturday, in solidarity with the Women's March in Washington, D.C. Taking place in the wake of the Donald Trump taking the oath of office as the nation's 45th president, the mass gathering is intended to support women's rights.

It's considered a "sister march" for the D.C. version, and is expected to be one of the largest local marches in the country. The local version is dubbed "Women's March on ATX." As of Friday afternoon, more than 33,000 people had sent their RSVP to participate in the local event, one of the organizers, Edie Cassell, wrote on Facebook.

The gathering Cassell will be involved with will begin in East Austin at 11 a.m. from the Plaza Saltillo transit station at 1501 E. 5th St., at the corner of 5th Street and Comal. From there, participants will march along 6th Street to Congress Avenue and on to the Texas Capitol.

Participants are urged to wear purple—a signature color of the women's suffrage movement.

Another gathering will meet at the Tejano monument on Capitol grounds, joining their fellow marchers streaming in from other points in the city. The gathering point for this group is hard to miss, a 275-ton granite-and-bronze statue unveiled on Capitol grounds to honor the contributions of Hispanics in Texas history.

"Loving how America's skies and roadways and train tracks and footpaths are full of courageous, rebellious women of all ages and backgrounds—along with those who love us and respect us and stand with us—traveling and gathering in solidarity to march," another organizer, Kathy Vale Castillo, wrote on Facebook.

The converging groups are expected to reach the Capitol by noon, and expected to remain on the grounds until 3 pl.m. An estimated 200,000 people are expected to participate in the Women's March is Washington, D.C.

>>> Image via Women's March