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Women’s March On Washington Attracts Arkansas Native

(KFSM)- For Fort Smith native, Katie Pearson, looking out into the crowd of thousands at the Women’s March on Washington was surreal. “I climbed up ...

(KFSM)- For Fort Smith native, Katie Pearson, looking out into the crowd of thousands at the Women's March on Washington was surreal.

"I climbed up on a fence just to see if we could see an ending point to the crowd and there was nothing," Pearson said. "I couldn't see an ending point."

Having moved to Washington, D.C. three years ago, Pearson said this is the best experience she's had yet.

"Going by the White House and going by the Washington Monument almost daily, this was the first time where I feel like I looked up and I had my sign and I looked up and [thought] this is what democracy is about," Pearson said. "This is what being an American is about."

Active with climate change and a supporter of equality, Pearson is eager to make a difference.

"To me, this wasn't an anti-Trump march," Pearson said. To me, Trump is our President, I love our democracy, I love our nation. Of course, I'm going to respect our President. Because I can't change what he's doing and I'm not going to go against him personally, there's only somethings I can do."

Pearson believes being a feminist is much more than the "burn your bra" stereotype.

"It's equality," Pearson said. "I think people get caught up in the word, feminist and they hear feminine. They think that the word feminine might take away your masculinity, might take away the chivalry or all this other stuff, but it's just equality. If you believe in equality, then you're a feminist."

For the non-supporters, Pearson said it's important for even those not affected to become educated.

"People wouldn't go to this march if it wasn't directly affecting them," Pearson said. "If it isn't directly affecting you and you didn't go to the march, then maybe you need to see why these people are affected by this."

More than 1 million people joined the women's marches worldwide, the Washington rally alone attracted more than 500,000 according to city officials.

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