As thousands gathered in the Chico City Plaza Jan. 21, the chants and cheers were quickly overshadowed by the underlying message; the United States is deeply divided.

It was a peaceful demonstration that supported women’s rights, reproductive rights and race equality. Despite this, the main message of anti-Trump sentiment became clear through the signs and screams of the crowd, presenting a troublesome notion of unity through hatred.

As a country, we cannot remain divided over the person meant to lead us. Demonstrations for equal rights and to show support should be a recurring theme, but regardless of the protestors resentment for Trump, he will remain the president for four more years.

With this in mind, it’s important to acknowledge the ability of communities across the nation to come together over more than just disapproval for the Commander-In-Chief. Being bold in the face of discriminatory speeches or actions is a successful utilization of the people’s voice.

The marches were a great demonstration of the city banding together over issues that have a great significance to us all. Although it was successful, it shouldn’t stop at just one. Continuing to voice concerns in the political sphere and holding demonstrations leads to prevalent activism in our community.

Everyone should be using this demonstration as a model of what Chico can achieve when the community comes together. No one was hurt, people were able to represent their feelings and a standard for future marches was created.

Now that people in Chico have had time to voice their concerns, the next step should be taking action. Keeping up with current legislation and remaining vigilant of politician’s actions should be a top priority.

Trump is far from the only person that has an influence on the rights that the community was protesting for. Local politicians and representatives are just as important as people in the White House.

The fight for equality doesn’t end with one march, one protest or even in four years, it’s an ongoing battle that should be bolstered by respect and a genuine interest for human rights.

Although the march signified the success of the city to band together and tackle the inequalities that minority groups are facing, it also represented a deep hatred for the president. Overcoming the disdain for Trump is going to be an important part of the next four years, as looking at his actions and weighing them fairly will help the United States succeed.

Everyone has mixed feelings about who was voted in and the reasons why, and peaceful protests are the best way to demonstrate those feelings. Now that we know there is an abundance of support available to represent people’s ideologies, it’s time to continue coming together and focus on making the voice of Chico heard by taking action and getting involved in state and city affairs.