2017: A Year of Protests (photos)
By • January 2, 2018 0 1511
Freedom of speech, of the press, of association, of assembly and petition — the fabric of an open society, these are rights guaranteed by the First Amendment.
The nation’s capital has perennially stood at the epicenter of our citizens’ dissent. The inauguration of President Donald Trump in January of 2017 precipitated the massive Women’s March on Washington, followed by various rallies and demonstrations: for science, education, the climate, workers, immigration, LGBT rights, abortion rights, religious freedom (and an end to discrimination against Muslims) and Puerto Rican reconstruction.
Many of the sentiments on the demonstrators’ signs seemed sharper, meaner and wittier than in earlier years. Some may live on far longer than the memories of the rallies themselves.
View Jeff Malet’s photos of last year’s protests in D.C. by clicking on the photo icons below.
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- On International Women’s Day in Washington D.C. on Wednesday March 8, 2017, a late-afternoon “Women Workers Rising” rally for “Dignity, Equality, and Respect” originated at the U.S. Department of Labor and proceeded to John Marshall Park. Organizers were calling all women and allies to come and stand in solidarity with women workers – to seek an end to workplace violence and harassment and to promote pay equity, one fair living wage, paid leave and labor rights. (Photo by Jeff Malet)
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- Baby Otis is only 5 months old but he knows a boob when he sees one. Voicing outrage over President Donald Trump’s executive order restricting entry into the country for travelers from seven Muslim-majority nations, thousands of protesters gathered at the White House and marched down Pennsylvania Ave. to the U.S. Capitol in Washington D.C. on Saturday, February 4, 2017. (Photo by Jeff Malet)
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- On International Women’s Day in Washington D.C. on Wednesday March 8, 2017, a late-afternoon “Women Workers Rising” rally for “Dignity, Equality, and Respect” originated at the U.S. Department of Labor and proceeded to John Marshall Park. Organizers were calling all women and allies to come and stand in solidarity with women workers – to seek an end to workplace violence and harassment and to promote pay equity, one fair living wage, paid leave and labor rights. (Photo by Jeff Malet)
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- Protesters waving the Puerto Rican flag marched on Washington D.C.’s National Mall on Sunday morning, Nov. 19, 2017 to draw attention to the situation in hurricane-stricken Puerto Rico. Thousands gathered on the U.S. Capitol west lawn for the “The Unity for Puerto Rico March” calling for disaster relief for Puerto Rico and for updating the 1920 law called the Jones Act, which mandates that American ships distribute all its goods. Two months after Hurricane Maria devastated Puerto Rico, more than half of the island is still without power and approximately 10 percent of its residents still lack access to running water. (Photo by Jeff Malet)
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- “I don’t like you Mr. Trump!” A protester channels Dr. Seuss with her sign. Over 500,000 protesters gathered on the National Mall for the Women’s March on Washington D.C., and several million more assembled in cities around the country and the world to rebuke President Donald Trump on Saturday, Jan. 21, 2017, the day following his inauguration. (Photo by Jeff Malet)
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- Free Speech Rally in front of the Lincoln Memorial in Washington D.C. on June 25, 2017, hosted by Richard Spencer and featuring many prominent voices and figures of the “Alt-Right”. (Photo by Jeff Malet)
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- “Give me your tired, your poor. Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free” reads this sign in front of the U.S. Capitol, quoting the Statue of Liberty poem, New Colossus, by Emma Lazarus. Voicing outrage over President Donald Trump’s executive order restricting entry into the country for travelers from seven Muslim-majority nations, thousands of protesters gathered at the White House and marched down Pennsylvania Ave. to the U.S. Capitol in Washington D.C. on Saturday, February 4, 2017. (Photo by Jeff Malet)
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- “Muslim and proud” reads this protest sign. Voicing outrage over President Donald Trump’s executive order restricting entry into the country for travelers from seven Muslim-majority nations, thousands of protesters gathered at the White House and marched down Pennsylvania Ave. to the U.S. Capitol in Washington D.C. on Saturday, February 4, 2017. (Photo by Jeff Malet)
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- Irene Hensley, age 3, holds a sign showing a polar bear and the words “who are these morons.” Protesters gathered near the White House within minutes of President Donald Trump’s announcement that he was withdrawing the United States from the Paris climate accord, effectively dampening efforts to combat global warming. In Washington D.C. on Thursday June 1, 2017. (Photo by Jeff Malet)
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- More than 500,000 protesters gathered on the National Mall for the Women’s March on Washington, rebuking President Donald Trump on Jan. 21, 2017, the day following his inauguration. Photo by Jeff Malet.
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- “Not Today Satan” says this demonstrator. Over 500,000 protesters gathered on the National Mall for the Women’s March on Washington D.C., and several million more assembled in cities around the country and the world to rebuke President Donald Trump on Saturday, Jan. 21, 2017, the day following his inauguration. (Photo by Jeff Malet)
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- “Keep Your Laws Out of My Drawers” says this demonstrator. Over 500,000 protesters gathered on the National Mall for the Women’s March on Washington D.C., and several million more assembled in cities around the country and the world to rebuke President Donald Trump on Saturday, Jan. 21, 2017, the day following his inauguration. (Photo by Jeff Malet)
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- “People B4 Profit” reads the hat. Over 500,000 protesters gathered on the National Mall for the Women’s March on Washington D.C., and several million more assembled in cities around the country and the world to rebuke President Donald Trump on Saturday, Jan. 21, 2017, the day following his inauguration. (Photo by Jeff Malet)
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- This demonstrator is “MAD”. Over 500,000 protesters gathered on the National Mall for the Women’s March on Washington D.C., and several million more assembled in cities around the country and the world to rebuke President Donald Trump on Saturday, Jan. 21, 2017, the day following his inauguration. (Photo by Jeff Malet)
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- “She Won” says this demonstrator referring to Hilary Clinton’s vote margin over Donald Trump. Over 500,000 protesters gathered on the National Mall for the Women’s March on Washington D.C., and several million more assembled in cities around the country and the world to rebuke President Donald Trump on Saturday, Jan. 21, 2017, the day following his inauguration. (Photo by Jeff Malet)
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- “Fear if a Female Planet” reads the sign. Over 500,000 protesters gathered on the National Mall for the Women’s March on Washington D.C., and several million more assembled in cities around the country and the world to rebuke President Donald Trump on Saturday, Jan. 21, 2017, the day following his inauguration. (Photo by Jeff Malet)
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- “More Orgasm. Less Wargasm.” says this demonstrator. Over 500,000 protesters gathered on the National Mall for the Women’s March on Washington D.C., and several million more assembled in cities around the country and the world to rebuke President Donald Trump on Saturday, Jan. 21, 2017, the day following his inauguration. (Photo by Jeff Malet)
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- “I’m 9 years old 4 equality” says this young demonstrator. Over 500,000 protesters gathered on the National Mall for the Women’s March on Washington D.C., and several million more assembled in cities around the country and the world to rebuke President Donald Trump on Saturday, Jan. 21, 2017, the day following his inauguration. (Photo by Jeff Malet)
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- Over 500,000 protesters gathered on the National Mall for the Women’s March on Washington D.C., and several million more assembled in cities around the country and the world to rebuke President Donald Trump on Saturday, Jan. 21, 2017, the day following his inauguration. (Photo by Jeff Malet)
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- “Now you’ve pissed off Grandma” says this demonstrator. Over 500,000 protesters gathered on the National Mall for the Women’s March on Washington D.C., and several million more assembled in cities around the country and the world to rebuke President Donald Trump on Saturday, Jan. 21, 2017, the day following his inauguration. (Photo by Jeff Malet)
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- “The Future is Female” says this demonstrator. Over 500,000 protesters gathered on the National Mall for the Women’s March on Washington D.C., and several million more assembled in cities around the country and the world to rebuke President Donald Trump on Saturday, Jan. 21, 2017, the day following his inauguration. (Photo by Jeff Malet)
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- “Defund Planned Parenthood” reads the sign. Thousands of pro-life activists rallied near the Washington Monument for the 44th annual “March for Life” up Constitution Ave. to the Supreme Court Building in Washington D.C. on Friday, January 27, 2017. The event takes place every year on the anniversary of the Court’s landmark Roe v. Wade decision, which legalized access to abortion. (Photo by Jeff Malet)
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- Demonstrators assembled as the Supreme Court heard arguments in Masterpiece Cakeshop v. Colorado Civil Rights Commission on Tues. December 5, 2017 in Washington D.C. In 2012, a same-sex couple, Charlie Craig and David Mullins, was denied a wedding cake by Lakewood, Colo., baker Jack Phillips. The baker claimed that he had a free-speech right to refuse to make a wedding cake for a same-sex couple, despite a state civil rights law that bans such discrimination. (Photo by Jeff Malet)
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- “Stop Abortion, Fix Men!” reads the sign. Thousands of pro-life activists rallied near the Washington Monument for the 44th annual “March for Life” up Constitution Ave. to the Supreme Court Building in Washington D.C. on Friday, January 27, 2017. The event takes place every year on the anniversary of the Court’s landmark Roe v. Wade decision, which legalized access to abortion. (Photo by Jeff Malet)
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- Protesters waving the Puerto Rican flag marched on Washington D.C.’s National Mall on Sunday morning, Nov. 19, 2017 to draw attention to the situation in hurricane-stricken Puerto Rico. Thousands gathered on the U.S. Capitol west lawn for the “The Unity for Puerto Rico March” calling for disaster relief for Puerto Rico and for updating the 1920 law called the Jones Act, which mandates that American ships distribute all its goods. Two months after Hurricane Maria devastated Puerto Rico, more than half of the island is still without power and approximately 10 percent of its residents still lack access to running water. (Photo by Jeff Malet)
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- “Public dollars belong in public education” says this demonstrator at the March for Public Education. Several hundred activists gathered on Saturday July 22, 2017 at the Washington Monument and marched to the Department of Education building in Washington D.C. to protest against Education Secretary Betsy DeVos and the Trump Administration’s efforts to cut federal education funding and expand private-school vouchers. Teachers and parents have been critical of DeVos for her support of school vouchers and charter schools, which they see as taking away resources from public schools. (Photo by Jeff Malet)
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- Protesters gathered near the White House within minutes of President Donald Trump’s announcement that he was withdrawing the United States from the Paris climate accord, effectively dampening efforts to combat global warming. In Washington D.C. on Thursday June 1, 2017. (Photo by Jeff Malet)
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- “Kompromised” Demonstrators gathered in front of the White House in Washington D.C. on Wednesday May 10, 2017 to protest the firing of FBI Director James Comey by President Donald Trump on the previous day. (Photo by Jeff Malet)
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- The People’s Climate March got underway in Washington D.C. as tens of thousands of demonstrators pass the White House on Saturday April 29, 2017 in sweltering heat to protest President Donald Trump’s refusal to acknowledge the scientific consensus about man-made contributions to climate change. “Is it hot in here or is it just me?” reads the sign. (Photo by Jeff Malet)
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- The People’s Climate March got underway in Washington D.C. as tens of thousands of demonstrators packed the streets on Saturday April 29, 2017 in sweltering heat to protest the White House’s refusal to acknowledge the scientific consensus about man-made contributions to climate change. (Photo by Jeff Malet)
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- “I was told to bring a SINE” reads the sign. The March for Science, according to organizers, was the first step of a global movement to defend the vital role science plays in our health, safety, economies, and governments. Tens of thousands of teachers, scientists, researchers and general citizens gathered in Washington D.C. near the Washington Monument before marching down Constitution Ave. to the U.S. Capitol on a rainy Earth Day, Saturday, April 22, 2017, largely to protest the policies of President Donald Trump aimed against science and climate change. This was one of over 600 like marches that took place around the world. (Photo by Jeff Malet)
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- “The Meteor Is A Chinese Hoax,” proclaimed this T. rex at the March for Science, held on a rainy Earth Day, Saturday, April 22, 2017. Photo by Jeff Malet.
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- Geographer Tina James from Baltimore Md. is a “Mad Scientist.” The March for Science, according to organizers, was the first step of a global movement to defend the vital role science plays in our health, safety, economies, and governments. Tens of thousands of teachers, scientists, researchers and general citizens gathered in Washington D.C. near the Washington Monument before marching down Constitution Ave. to the U.S. Capitol on a rainy Earth Day, Saturday, April 22, 2017, largely to protest the policies of President Donald Trump aimed against science and climate change. This was one of over 600 like marches that took place around the world. (Photo by Jeff Malet)
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- “White House Staff Vacancy: Psychiatrist.” The March for Science, according to organizers, was the first step of a global movement to defend the vital role science plays in our health, safety, economies, and governments. Tens of thousands of teachers, scientists, researchers and general citizens gathered in Washington D.C. near the Washington Monument before marching down Constitution Ave. to the U.S. Capitol on a rainy Earth Day, Saturday, April 22, 2017, largely to protest the policies of President Donald Trump aimed against science and climate change. This was one of over 600 like marches that took place around the world. (Photo by Jeff Malet)
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- “Think Like a Proton and Stay Positive.” The March for Science, according to organizers, was the first step of a global movement to defend the vital role science plays in our health, safety, economies, and governments. Tens of thousands of teachers, scientists, researchers and general citizens gathered in Washington D.C. near the Washington Monument before marching down Constitution Ave. to the U.S. Capitol on a rainy Earth Day, Saturday, April 22, 2017, largely to protest the policies of President Donald Trump aimed against science and climate change. This was one of over 600 like marches that took place around the world. (Photo by Jeff Malet)
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- “Girls just wanna have funding for Science” reads the sign. The March for Science, according to organizers, was the first step of a global movement to defend the vital role science plays in our health, safety, economies, and governments. Tens of thousands of teachers, scientists, researchers and general citizens gathered in Washington D.C. near the Washington Monument before marching down Constitution Ave. to the U.S. Capitol on a rainy Earth Day, Saturday, April 22, 2017, largely to protest the policies of President Donald Trump aimed against science and climate change. This was one of over 600 like marches that took place around the world. (Photo by Jeff Malet)
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- Demonstrators rallied outside the U.S. Capitol for the April 15, 2017 Tax March in Washington, D.C., before proceeding past the Trump International Hotel and the IRS building. Tens of thousands of Americans gathered in more than 150 communities across the country to demand that President Donald Trump immediately release his full returns and come clean with the American people about his business dealings, financial entanglements, and myriad conflicts of interest. The protest sign in photo reads “Need a Distraction? Start a War.” (Photo by Jeff Malet)
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- Demonstrators rallied outside the U.S. Capitol for the April 15, 2017 Tax March in Washington, D.C., before proceeding past the Trump International Hotel and the IRS building. Tens of thousands of Americans gathered in more than 150 communities across the country to demand that President Donald Trump immediately release his full returns and come clean with the American people about his business dealings, financial entanglements, and myriad conflicts of interest. The protest sign in photo reads “I’d rather have a swamp than a septic tank.” (Photo by Jeff Malet)
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- Protesters assembled for the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) outside the Verizon Center in Washington D.C. March 26, 2017. Hundreds of rabbis and others stood in separate groups once President Donald Trump took the podium.(Photo by Jeff Malet)
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- Shouting “water is life” thousands marched past the Trump International Hotel on Pennsylvania Ave. to the White House in Washington D.C. on Friday March 10, 2017, in an effort to stop the Dakota Access pipeline. The final, disputed section of the pipeline would pass below a reservoir that provides drinking water to the Standing Rock Sioux and Cheyenne River Sioux reservations. Work on the &3.8 billion pipeline, which is owned by Texas-based Energy Transfer Partners, was halted in December by the Obama administration, but in January was given the go-ahead by the Trump Administration. (Photo by Jeff Malet)
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- “Impeach” reads this sign. On International Women’s Day in Washington D.C. on Wednesday March 8, 2017, a late-afternoon “Women Workers Rising” rally for “Dignity, Equality, and Respect” originated at the U.S. Department of Labor and proceeded to John Marshall Park. Organizers were calling all women and allies to come and stand in solidarity with women workers – to seek an end to workplace violence and harassment and to promote pay equity, one fair living wage, paid leave and labor rights. (Photo by Jeff Malet)
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- “Stop the war on women” reads the protest sign reflected in her sunglasses. Demonstrators gathered at Freedom Plaza in Washington D.C. on Wednesday March 8, 2017 for International Women’s Day. A mid-day march to the White House targeted the so-called “global gag rule,” a United States government policy that blocks U.S. federal funding for non-governmental organizations that provide abortion counseling or referrals, advocate to decriminalize abortion or expand abortion services. The rule has been a favorite of every Republican administration since 1984 and was reinstated by Donald Trump. (Photo by Jeff Malet)
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- “Dump Trump” says Ariana Beldoch, one of the participants who took it off for Cupid’s Undie Run in Washington D.C. on Saturday, February 11, 2017 to raise money for the Children’s Tumor Foundation. (Photo by Jeff Malet)
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- “This Isn’t National Security, This is Hate” says this activist. Congressional Democrats held a rally and candlelight vigil in front of the steps of the U.S. Supreme Court in Washington D.C. on Monday, January 30, 2017 to protest President Donald Trump’s executive order banning immigrants from predominantly Muslim countries. (Photo by Jeff Malet)
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- “I Want My Country Back” says this activist. Congressional Democrats held a rally and candlelight vigil in front of the steps of the U.S. Supreme Court in Washington D.C. on Monday, January 30, 2017 to protest President Donald Trump’s executive order banning immigrants from predominantly Muslim countries. (Photo by Jeff Malet)
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- “Fight Like a Girl” says this demonstrator. Over 500,000 protesters gathered on the National Mall for the Women’s March on Washington D.C., and several million more assembled in cities around the country and the world to rebuke President Donald Trump on Saturday, Jan. 21, 2017, the day following his inauguration. (Photo by Jeff Malet)
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- “We Have a Constitutional Crisis.” Demonstrators gathered in front of the White House in Washington D.C. on Wednesday May 10, 2017 to protest the firing of FBI Director James Comey by President Donald Trump on the previous day. (Photo by Jeff Malet)
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- Members of the Service Employee’s International Union who would storm the U.S. Capitol steps demanding action by lawmakers to pass bipartisan legislation that would provide protection for the “Dreamers,” who fall under the Deferred Action for Child Arrivals (DACA) program, in Washington D.C. on Dec. 6, 2017. (photo by Jeff Malet)
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- “President Trump has awoken a sleeping giant” reads this protest sign in front of the U.S. Capitol. Voicing outrage over President Donald Trump’s executive order restricting entry into the country for travelers from seven Muslim-majority nations, thousands of protesters gathered at the White House and marched down Pennsylvania Ave. to the U.S. Capitol in Washington D.C. on Saturday, February 4, 2017. (Photo by Jeff Malet)
