They came with their signs, their flags, their families and friends. Their chants echoed off the downtown Birmingham buildings as they walked through the city's historic Civil Rights district.
Thousands of Alabamians joined the Women's March on Washington in Birmingham today, filling Kelly Ingram Park for a rally before spilling into the downtown streets for a march to Linn Park and back.
"We are marching in the footsteps of those who went before us for civil rights and equal rights for all," said Dalia Abrams, one of the Birmingham march organizers. A week ago, she told AL.com they were hoping to get a crowd of 200 to the march. Birmingham police estimated the crowd at 5,000.
"We hope they would be proud of what we've learned from them."
The Birmingham march was the official "sister march" of the Women's March on Washington, which began as a march on the nation's capital but spread across the United States and the world, with hundreds of thousands gathering in cities to march in support of a variety of civil and human rights, and in protest of a new presidential agenda they don't support.
"Our rights are going to be taken away from us and if we don't do something collectively, we're going to be in big trouble," said Yancey del Rio of Helena, who was attending the march with her daughter Maria Holland. Del Rio held a sign that said 'Granny is Pissed.' "With this president, I am literally scared to death."
Although the march was not billed as an anti-Trump protest, many marchers expressed their disapproval of the new president, and some chants railed against his remarks about women and his stance on a variety of civil rights issues.
"We came to show solidarity for all people," said Averee Patton of Birmingham, who attended with her husband, their two children, her mother and a family friend. They held signs including "We shall overcome," "A woman's place is in the resistance" and "When they go low, we go high."
"Peoples' rights are already being taken away, so we want them to know that we're with them and we support them," said Patton.
Their friend, Stephen Todd, came with them. He is gay and said he came to the march because he wants to publicly support LGBTQ rights.
"I'm very proud of them," he said of the Patton family. "For them to involve their children in something like this, that's so moving to me. I'm old and it moves me so much to see young people involved."
Todd held a sign that read "Keep your tiny hands off my rights."
Nearby, Crystal Westerfield and her partner had their two small dogs, who were popular with passersby. The dogs wore pink bows on their ears and sat in a dog stroller with a sign that read "Doggies against a president who grabs kitties" in reference to Trump's "hot mic" incident where he talked about groping women.
Alice McHugh brought her 95-year-old mother, Hester Miner, to the march. Miner, who sat in a wheelchair and wore a jaunty pink bow in her white hair, was all smiles.
"I think it's important to speak out, and this is my chance," said Miner.
"We're here trying to make sure that people know that the fight's not over and we're never giving it up," said McHugh. "We're here for everybody, speaking up, just like the rest of the world."
The march began with a rally led by several speakers, including Birmingham Mayor William Bell and State Rep. Patricia Todd, the first openly-gay elected official in the state of Alabama.
Bell mentioned Trump's inauguration speech - to a chorus of boos - as he looked out at the crowd, telling them, "I'm looking at a united America."
Todd spoke to the crowd about the importance of contacting their legislators about issues they care about. She encouraged women to run for public office.
Musicians, poets and speakers, including members of the Latino community and the LGBTQ community, performed.
The Huntsville Feminist Chorus wrapped up the rally, leading the crowd in protest songs like "Keep on Moving Forward" and "Ain't Gonna Let Nobody Turn Me Around."
After that, around 3 p.m. the crowd began marching down 5th Avenue, past the Jefferson County Courthouse, around Linn Park, then down 6th Avenue back to Kelly Ingram Park.
Segments of marchers broke out into a different chant every few minutes, led by anyone who felt like starting one. Signs advocated support of women's health, LGBTQ rights, climate change, immigration, public education and myriad other causes. Many signs railed against Donald Trump, sexism and racism.
There were no visible protesters at the march, although some marchers got an occasional catcall from a passerby.
"I hope this message, particularly in Birmingham and the South, will accomplish the fact that we're fed up and we don't intend to take it anymore," said Mary Jones of Birmingham. "We're fed up and we're going to continue this day by day, whatever it takes, to keep this thing going."