COLUMBUS, Ohio — Around the nation, there's been an increase in marches with the goal of bringing communities together and asking for reproductive freedom, equality and justice.

What You Need To Know

  • Hundreds gathered at Goodale Park in Columbus Saturday for the People’s March

  • They are marching to the Ohio Statehouse to demand equality, reproductive rights and justice for all

  • The event is part of a larger, nationwide effort, with marches happening across the country and in Washington, D.C

Hundreds gathered at Goodale Park in Columbus Saturday for the People’s March.

“We are here to remind the powers that be that they work for us” said Leanna Rocheleau, a host of the march.

Rocheleau said equality for all has always been something that’s important to her, and she’s excited to see everyone come together and unite. 

“There’s only two reasons why people seek positions of power," she said. "One is to unite and fight for the people or the other is to divide and oppress the people, and we choose the fight."

Participants marched to the Ohio Statehouse to demand equality, reproductive rights and justice for all. 

“As a woman, as a mother, as a lesbian and as a human being, it’s important to me that it’s not equal until it’s equal for all,” Rocheleau said.

Dozens of organizations showed up to support the people’s march, like Bryanna Chambers with the People’s Justice Project. 

“We want people to feel empowered,” she said.

Chambers said, along with equal reproductive rights, she wants to see a world where people live without fearing discrimination or violence. She said she’s advocating for more crisis response options. 

“I know that the City of Columbus is having a meeting about that, so reallocating that money so that we can decrease the interaction between the police and people, especially Black people, because we know that with those interactions that’s where police brutality can happen,” Chambers said.