By Steve Shelton

There was no disputing the buzz in the air last Saturday as I stepped onto the escalator to join the masses disappearing deep into the Dupont Circle station. Below grade the buzz amplified as thousands of marchers—men and women from across the country--found their way into trains like bees into hives. I emerged at the L’Enfant Plaza station and began migrating toward a queen bee in her own right speaking to thousands of her worker bees from a main stage: Gloria Steinem.

But I didn’t make the stage. At once I was swallowed up in the swarms of marchers who had also flown in from corners of the United States to unite, in solidarity, for a protest unlike any protest in any time. The Women’s March on January 21, 2017, was unprecedented. It was global. It was peaceful. It was mindful. It was for women--and men. And it was directed at a man who, just a day before, was sworn in as the 45th president of the United States; A place where an individual’s civil rights for safety, respect, and honor are championed around the world. A place viewed as “safe” by families fleeing bad things and bad people in other parts of the world.

The wordsmiths and graphic artists were busy in the days leading up to the Women’s March. “Viva la Vulva” read one sign. Another sign read “Free Melania.” Ironic. Clever. And like so many of the signs seen around the world that day most were short on words, long on graphics. Perhaps easier for Trump to process. For a moment my mind went back to the 1993 Hollywood movie “Free Willy” where a pod of orcas, swimming off the coast of the Pacific Northwest, are hunted by a band of whalers and trap Willy, the plot's central whale, who is sent to an amusement park in Astoria, Oregon. I felt sorry for Willy.

I’ve been fortunate to cover a lot of protests, rage and parades around the world. Being a photographer gives you a front row seat during cultural events where political dysfunction may trump function on a given day. You work as hard to find the best pictures (or words) that represent the day as you work at remaining impartial, fair, and unbiased. Certain days are like denying one’s DNA—like last Saturday. How can you not get swept up in a message felt so globally? The signs were omnipresent. The message, clear. The Mall before the Capitol was a rich tapestry so colorful, so universal, and woven so tight as to be trapping—and yet so liberating to so many. And like many times in my career I was again struck by, on this day, how desperately short photography falls. Even drone coverage seemed inadequate.

Eight years ago I attended President Obama’s inauguration because I wanted to bear witness and see history being made as the first African American was sworn in as the 44th president of the United States. It wasn’t about being a democrat or being a republican. It wasn’t about partisanship. It was about participation.

Likewise, I wanted to see last week how our country might respond to another historic presidency as, for the first time, a man was assuming the presidency of the United States without ever having held a public office. My feeling is the best coaches are those who have played the sport. The rancor and vitriol preceding this election was unmatched. It was nasty. It was salacious. And the women around the world last week wanted to make it clear, for the record, that grabbing a woman—in any regard—is unacceptable.

Seeing is believing.

Steve Shelton is a West Seattle based multi-media journalist whose work has appeared in publications all over the world. His work has taken him to Kosovo for war coverage, to the Arctic to cover the US Coast Guard, to Haiti following the massive earthquake there. Shelton also offers high quality portrait photography for personal or business purposes from his West Seattle studio.

Steve Shelton Images, LLC
www.stevesheltonimages.com
www.seattlefineportraits.com
www.becurrent.org