When Kathy Wells and Mike Smith and other Limestone County residents joined the Women’s March on Washington D.C. a day after the presidential inaugural, they were overwhelmed.

The march drew at least half a million people in Washington, and some estimates put worldwide solidarity marches at 4.8 million.

The people gathered to tell lawmakers and policymakers they have a voice and they don’t want to go backward.

“We have to let them know we are here and we intend to be heard,” Wells said.

She and three other Limestone residents, Sandy and Jim Hickman and Angela Christopher, drove in a van to the nation’s capital to attend the march.

Smith, head of the Limestone County Democratic Party, rode a bus for 40 hours to get there. Still other Limestone residents attended marches held in Birmingham and Nashville, Wells said.

Some news reports said the march was an anti-President Donald Trump rally but Wells says that was not the point.

“None of us went with the idea that it was a protest against Donald Trump,” Wells said. “We went with the intent of having our voices heard; we have been working long and hard and we don’t want to go back. So, when people say it’s about Trump, it’s not. It’s about protecting our most marginalized and vulnerable populations.

“My primary reason for going was — having worked in the domestic violence and sexual violence field for over 35 years — that we have worked long and hard to get laws in place to protect victims of domestic violence and to get funding for domestic violence programs and that is now in serious jeopardy.”

Wells said Trump’s transition team has recommended eliminating 17 major programs involving civil rights, the environment, the National Endowment for the Arts as well as the Violence Against Women’s Act, which administers 25 grant programs.

Those grant programs are not just for women’s shelters and sexual assault victims but for law enforcement as well, Wells said.

“It would be a devastating blow if they were to eliminate it — it would take us back many, many years, and people would die,” she said. “If Violence Against Women Act was removed or funding removed, it would p[lace people in serious danger. So, that was my main motivation.”

She pointed out Limestone County had a murder suicide already this year and there were several last year.

In addition to victims’ rights, she said there is also a threat to issues involving voting, LBGTQ programs and women’s rights in general, including fair pay.

“We have worked long and hard to make progress and we are very concerned we will lose rights or they will be severely curbed,” Wells said.

Although she has marched at the Capitol before to commemorate domestic violence victims, the Women’s March on Washington was unlike any other.

“It was an absolutely incredible experience,” she said.”First, there were so many people; it was a huge march and there were a lot of men, which was great. Second, it was so peaceful. There was not one disturbance. People were friendly and they cared. There was not a packed crowd pushing and talking back to each other. People were helping disabled folks. And, if a person had a bag of food they would share it with everybody. Finally, the level of energy was there because there is so much of a sense of urgency to this.”

Men attended, too

Smith said the march moved him as well.

“It was overwhelming to see such large numbers of people set against the backdrop of our nation’s Capitol,” he said. “It brought about a sense of patriotic pride to witness grassroots democracy at work. In addition to all of the wonderful speeches and excitement, something deeper stood out for me. As I watch people, I observed the reverence and respect everyone showed toward one another.”

Smith said a lot of moms and grandmothers were there, which meant no one went hungry and there were continual reminders to clean up your mess.

He said that by the time the march began, there were so many people they could not proceed in an orderly manner. Instead, the masses simply migrated toward the mall.

“If you could stand on something, you could see rivers of people going in many directions down many different streets,” Smith said.

As the Limestone Countians navigated the chaos, they encountered smiling faces, he said. People were courteous and kind, asking each other where they were from. There didn’t even seem to be any panic or frustration, they just let each other pass, he said.

“It became clear to me that I was witnessing a half-a-million people marching for everyone except themselves,” Smith said. “This is the America we are supposed to be, the America we can be.”

He believes other nations look to America as a world leader not for her military might but for her humanity.

“This was not just the protest of a man or of an election so obviously flawed but a show of solidarity that we the people stand up for the hard-earned rights and freedoms for which so many have given so much.”