Thousands of women and men flooded the streets of cities spread across the United States to participate in the Jan. 19 Women’s March, which started in 2017, just days after President Trump’s inauguration. Holding signs stapled with messages of unity and change while honing their resilient voices, women brought with them an air of determination to be heard. And it worked.

Since 2017, the #MeToo movement has prompted allegations of sexual misconduct to be taken more seriously than ever before. This year, a record-breaking number of women belonging to both Democratic and Republican parties have been elected into office. And change continues to shake our country.

And so, it was crucial that the crowds continued to show up just the same this year, despite the allegations circling discriminatory comments from a single co-chair member. The overall message of the Women’s March prevails against a single woman’s wrong and hurtful words. Women unifying beneath discrimination and hate is exactly the miracle of this movement.

This march is about women fighting together, side by side, raising flags and voices against squandered freedom, seeking equality and empowerment for all. This movement is bigger than discriminative statements because the sole purpose of this movement is to stand together against such statements — regardless of religion, socioeconomic status, or race.

“The mission of Women’s March is to harness the political power of diverse women and their communities to create transformative social change,” according to the Women’s March website.

If a co-chair of the Women’s March can’t exemplify this statement, then at least the thousands of women and men marching on Jan. 19 can, using this devastating circumstance as further fuel to carry on, keep the conversation going and continue fighting for equality for all women, everywhere.