They wore black and walked out.
At 1 p.m. today, people across the U.S. took to the streets and social media in support of a national walkout organized by anti-sexual harassment group #TimesUp. The event was planned in support of Dr. Christine Blasey Ford and Deborah Ramirez, women who have both accused Supreme Court Nominee Brett Kavanaugh of sexual assault. He denies the allegations.
Advocacy groups encouraged supporters to wear black, leave their workplaces and use the hashtag #BelieveSurvivors on social media posts. The Facebook event shared by Tarana Burke, the #MeToo movement founder, had more than 20,000 participants.
Some professors at Yale Law School cancelled classes on Monday to let students protest the Kavanaugh hearing, according to Campus Reform. More than 100 students traveled from the campus in New Haven, Connecticut to Washington, D.C. to protest at the Capitol building. (Kavanaugh graduated from Yale Law School, and one of the alleged assaults occurred when he was a student there.)
Many others showed their support by crowding public squares and government buildings.
Planned Parenthood CEO Cecile Richards walked out with U.S. Senator Sherrod Brown in Cleveland.
Other supporters included prominent leaders, politicians and celebrities who walked out as well or posted photos of themselves wearing black for solidarity.
CNBC Make It, hitting the streets of Midtown Manhattan, did not find celebrities or swarms of protesters but could not miss the number of women in all black passionate about the cause.
Many identified as survivors of sexual harassment themselves, such as Janet Mahoney. “Listen to us,” says Mahoney. “Listen to the voice of women. Just because something happened 35 years ago doesn’t mean that you can’t stand up and listen to us.”
Others asked for understanding for what survivors endure when they tell their stories. “It’d be nice if people would look at the statistics of what it takes for someone to come forward before having an opinion on something that might have an impact on other survivors, myself included,” said Melissa Peeples, who wore a “F—k the patriarchy” pin on the left collar of her shirt.
“It’s difficult enough to come out and make a statement,” Jessie Prieto tells CNBC Make It, “I just want to show support.”
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