Thousands of women, children and men turned out at Lake Eola Park on Saturday for a Women’s March to coincide with marches around the globe.
- Tens of thousands marched in Washington, D.C.
- Several 'sister rallies' held across Central Florida
- RELATED: Central Floridians board buses for DC Women's March
The rally at Lake Eola's bandshell was planned in conjunction with the Women's March on Washington, a day after the inauguration of Donald Trump as the country's 45th president.
And it came with a proclamation.
“Saturday, Jan. 21, 2017 is Women's Call to Action Day in the City of Orlando,” Commissioner Patty Sheehan told the crowd.
Organizers said more than 7,000 registered for Saturday's march, but they think the turnout was much greater.
One group at Lake Eola's rally, migrant families from Apopka, marched because they are concerned Trump's administration will be harmful to them because they are of Mexican decent and female. They think Trump threatens the rights of minories, women, Muslims and LGBTQ people.
Joining the sea of marchers was 12-year-old Luna Hernandez, whose parents are migrant workers in Apopka.
“(I'm here) to represent women’s rights,” Luna said.
Anne Kendrick organized the group from Apopka and said girls such as Luna feel threatened by Trump’s election rhetoric against Mexican communities.
“They’re women, and they’re Latina. That’s like two strikes against them in this current climate,” Kendrick said.
Kendrick said seeing women of all walks of life joining in solidarity for the same cause can help improve the self-esteem of girls such as Luna.
Autumn Huff Garick and Gricel Fernandez organized the event.
Garick said she had planned to go to the march on D.C., but eventually, she decided to plan a local rally.
“We decided to roll up our sleeves and make something happen,” Garick said. “The more we started speaking to one another and listening to people in the community we realized that people need resources. There were a lot of people who felt like if the election had gone the other way, their problems would go away, but that is not the truth.”
“The rally is not just for women, it is for those that feel strongly about women and women’s issues and hopefully it will empower all of us,” Garick said.
During Orlando's march, Luna and her friends carried symbolic butterflies, "because they start out as caterpillars and then they evolve.
"Girls evolve into women,” Luna said — women who on Saturday displayed peaceful solidarity across the nation.