Our very own Chopsticks Alley photojournalist, Jackie Huynh, went out to capture the climatic, unyielding spirit, and the formidable show of opposition and resistance at the 2018 Women's March this past Saturday. Jackie was in the midst of the marchers, feeling their energy, their anger, and their solidarity.
"Who's the boss of girls? GIRLS ARE THE BOSS OF GIRLS!"
What was the march like for you?
"Being at the march itself is so different than watching it on TV. You get to be in the middle of it, feel their chants reverberating through the streets, and move forward together in unity. Downtown San José was very different that day as I often see people minding their own business and going along their way," Jackie says. This past Saturday, on January 20th, 2018, you get a sense of humanity, compassion, and resistance. You get to see the people of San José "stand up, fight back!", moving along to the beat of the drums and screaming out chants in unison. "As a Vietnamese American, I find this show of resistance and fight for human rights to be close to home."
"No hate! No fear! Immigrants are welcome here!"
What really moved you?
"What really moved me during the march was seeing people that I know personally—friends, teachers, and acquaintances. Seeing them gives me a different perspective, knowing that activism and standing up for human rights moves us all."
"What do we want?" "Democracy!" "When do we want it?" "NOW!"
Which photo stood out to you?
"One photo that stood out to me the most would be the photo of the march exiting the bridge. The crowd is moving towards the light, they are not holding back, and everyone is pushing forward for a better and more progressive future." As the marchers entered the tunnel, echos of their chants amplified as their voices burst out of the tunnel to the finish line at Arena Green.
"Racist, sexist, anti-gay, Donald Trump, GO AWAY!"
What were you aiming to capture?
For Jackie, telling a story through his lens is one of the most rewarding experiences. "My goal for the march was to capture facial expressions, focusing on people's interactions with one another during the march. I wanted to be able to tell a story through the photos that I captured, so I chose to take wide angle shots to really get a sense of the environment and the spirit of the marchers."
Jackie enjoys being able to use his passion for photography to tell a story. "It's important for people to take pictures, for photography can encapsulate every day events that are part of a larger narrative." He says he often shoots with film photography because it limits the number of photos one can take. This allows him to be more creative and intentional about the things he captures. "Film photography is fragile as it is unpredictable—one day it'll work and the next it may not," Jackie says. At the march, he used both his digital camera and film camera, a Nikon F film camera with 35mm f2.8 lens. "I've been developing my own film to be more cost efficient, but I love the feeling of being able to shoot my own film and develop the images watching them come to life."
For more of Jackie's photos from the march, check out his Flickr.
To learn more about feminism and about the 2018 Women's March San Jose, check out our Women's March Bay Area 2018: The Many Faces of Feminism story.
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Carolyn Lê
Literature Editor
A craftsmen, an activist, and a critic, Carolyn is a San José native who studied Literature at University of California Santa Cruz. She has a deep appreciation for Vietnamese American literature and the Vietnamese American community. Driven by her educational background in literary criticism, she seeks to empower those who are historically marginalized, underrepresented, and under-served through storytelling and social justice organizing. Her hobbies include woodworking, cuddling with her furry four-legged children, and watching films with kickass women.