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Last January, the streets of Portland teemed with the footsteps and voices of women. The Women's March on Portland drew an estimated 100,000 people—one of the largest turnouts per capita nationwide to protest President Donald Trump's inauguration.
This year? The outrages of the Trump administration continue. But the marchers went missing.
In fact, to calculate the attendance at Portland protests last weekend, WW had to combine crowd estimates from a half-dozen events Jan. 20 and 21—because no official Women's March on Portland was held.
On the first anniversary of the national event, Portland saw about 4 percent as many marchers on the streets as it did the same weekend last year. That's a much steeper decline than that of any other large U.S. city.
Observers of Portland activism attribute the drop to several factors.
The organizers of last year's Women's March on Portland are the subject of an investigation by the Oregon Department of Justice into missing funds. Portland's activist circles have been torn by accusations of racism. And the leadership vacuum left many possible participants unaware that any events were happening last weekend.
Activists pointed fingers on social media.
"Sadly, we had many white women pissed at us for not having a march set up like last year," wrote Erica Fuller, one of the speakers at last year's Women's March, in a Facebook post. "Even though we gave folks many opportunities to join us in preparing another march, once again Portland white women failed to hit the mark."
We compared Portland's decrease in attendance from last year against those in five other large cities.
Portland
Number of protesters last year: 100,000
Number of protesters this year: 4,000
Percentage of protesters who marched this year compared to last year: 4
Seattle
Number of protesters last year: 100,000
Number of protesters this year: 30,000
Percentage of protesters who marched this year compared to last year: 30
New York
Number of protesters last year: 400,000
Number of protesters this year: 200,000
Percentage of protesters who marched this year compared to last year: 50
San Francisco
Number of protesters last year: 100,000
Number of protesters this year: 50,000
Percentage of protesters who marched this year compared to last year: 50
Los Angeles
Number of protesters last year: 750,000
Number of protesters this year: 600,000
Percentage of protesters who marched this year compared to last year: 80
Chicago
Number of protesters last year: 250,000
Number of protesters this year: 300,000
Percentage of protesters who marched this year compared to last year: 120