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Elizabeth Warren riles up crowd at Women’s March in Boston

Senator Elizabeth Warren spoke to the crowd on Boston Common who had gathered for the Women’s March. John Tlumacki/Globe Staff

Senator Elizabeth Warren incited a crowd of tens of thousands who gathered on Boston Common Saturday afternoon for the Women’s March.

“We can whimper. We can whine. Or we can fight back!” called Warren, as marchers clad in pink hats and waving protest signs screamed their agreement. “We come here to stand shoulder to shoulder to make clear: We are here! We will not be silent! We will not play dead! We will fight for what we believe in!”

The Boston event is one of more than 670 marches being held nationwide and globally, a day after President Trump formally took office. Speakers in Boston included Warren, Boston Mayor Martin J. Walsh, and Attorney General Maura Healey.

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Warren conjured the core values of American democracy: respect for every human being, economic opportunity, and celebration of diversity. She called for raising the minimum wage, protecting unions, fighting climate change, shielding immigrant families from deportation, and making sure gay marriage is not undermined. And she called on supporters to draw motivation from Trump’s inauguration Friday – a moment she said was burned in her mind.

“That is why we come together today, hundreds of thousands of people in Boston and Washington, and across this country,” she cried. “We are in marches to say we are fighting back! That’s who we are.”

She also railed against Trump’s policies, including his oft-uttered promise to build a wall along the US-Mexico border.

“Immigration makes us a stronger country. We will not build a stupid wall, and we will not tear millions of families apart. Not on our watch,” Warren proclaimed to applause and cheers.

“And we believe that sexism, racism, homophobia, and bigotry have no place in this country,” Warren continued. “Black lives matter; diversity makes our country stronger. We believe that equal means equal and that’s true in the workplace, it’s true in marriage, it’s true every place.”

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Warren also slammed Trump a day after his inauguration.

“Yesterday, Donald Trump was sworn in as president,” Warren said to boos. “That sight is now burned into my eyes forever.”

Warren also hit against the Republican-controlled Congress and their plans to repeal the Affordable Care Act, also known as Obamacare, among other issues.

“Trump and the Republicans promise to make America worse,” Warren said.

She also said that the country had a “moral responsibility” to address global warming.

“I’m going to say something that is really controversial in some places in Washington: We believe in science,” Warren said to cheers. “We know that climate change is real and we have a moral responsibility to protect this earth for our children and our grandchildren.”


Evan Allen can be reached at evan.allen@globe.com. Follow her on Twitter @evanmallen. Jaclyn Reiss can be reached at jaclyn.reiss@globe.com. Follow her on Twitter at @jaclynreiss.