Making a statement? The Statue of Liberty went dark on Tuesday, March 7, ahead of the “A Day Without a Woman” protest.
According to NBC New York, the lights on the New York City landmark darkened at around 11 p.m. ET, although Lady Liberty’s crown and torch remained lit. Naturally, social media users wondered if this was a silent show of solidarity for the strike.
Statue of Liberty went dark tonight.Trump? pic.twitter.com/PFaY5o0VeA
— Randall Balsmeyer (@randybals) March 8, 2017
The Statue of Liberty, a symbol of America’s values & our mission of inclusion, has gone dark. A sign of the times. pic.twitter.com/t4kEuj3Y9g
— Kaivan Shroff (@KaivanShroff) March 8, 2017
Wow! The Statue Of Liberty is dark tonight. Looks like someone is getting an early start to #ADayWithoutAWoman. ??❤️ #ImWithHer @womensmarch pic.twitter.com/odLbMHFFvS
— Ricky Davila (@TheRickyDavila) March 8, 2017
The #StatueOfLiberty has gone dark tonight. Lights off. America’s closed. #DayWithoutAWoman started early pic.twitter.com/J2lzAnEz18
— Alexandra Halaby (@iskandrah) March 8, 2017
Lights off at Statue of Liberty. Powerful #DayWithoutAWoman message if that’s why! pic.twitter.com/PHz599LtWD
— jordan ?? (@JordanUhl) March 8, 2017
CNN has just reported that the Statue of Liberty has gone dark tonight.
Power failure or social commentary? ?
— Raymond Braun (@raymondbraun) March 8, 2017
The Statue of Liberty going dark proves my grandmother’s favorite saying “The Lord works in mysterious ways”. Lady Liberty weeps.
— Steve Redmond (@sjredmond) March 8, 2017
The lights around the Statue of Liberty went out last night. This is when reality becomes the perfect metaphor. pic.twitter.com/wxXtOC54jl
— Matt Haig (@matthaig1) March 8, 2017
The Statue of Liberty went dark and the timing is just too perfect pic.twitter.com/ff5YRbu88d
— Bob Smith Sr. (@BobbySmitty3) March 8, 2017
May have been unplanned, but if the Statue of Liberty going dark is not a symbol of where our country is headed, I don’t know what is.
— Johnsen Del Rosario (@johnsentweets) March 8, 2017
The goal of the protest, which is happening across the nation on Wednesday, March 8, International Women’s Day, is to recognize “the enormous value that women of all backgrounds add to our socio-economic system—while receiving lower wages and experiencing greater inequities, vulnerability to discrimination, sexual harassment, and job insecurity,” according to organizers.
Many demonstrators — who are taking action by refraining from paid and unpaid work, not shopping in stores or online (with the exception of women-owned businesses), and/or wearing red, which represents “revolutionary love and sacrifice” — have also vocalized their opposition to President Donald Trump’s overwhelmingly male Cabinet and his administration’s plan to defund Planned Parenthood.
Despite protesters’ hope that the Statue of Liberty was joining in on the movement, the National Park Service offered a different explanation for her darkness. According to Parks spokesperson Jerry Willis, the lights — which came back on not long after midnight — went out due to a project involving “a new emergency backup generator.”
“A portion of the lighting system that illuminates the Statue of Liberty experienced a temporary, unplanned outage tonight,” he said in a statement, per NBC New York, adding that crews will be looking into the exact cause on Wednesday morning.
