New York (CNN) Women marching throughout the nation Saturday are championing more than just their rights.

Take Elda McQuade. She's a 64-year-old refugee from Cuba and grandmother of two boys. Marching in New York, she carried a protest sign saying, "Woke AF Grandma," using a slang term for awareness.

"I'm marching for truth, equality, justice and kindness," she told CNN. "And I was fortunate enough this country accepted me. I was able to raise a family. ... We've had a wonderful life here because we were accepted."

Her "woke" message embodies the spirit of the march. Women and men, boys and girls, took to the streets Saturday to protest issues ranging from birth control access to immigrants' rights.

"To be accepted and welcomed when you have nowhere else to go and no other recourse is a very big thing," McQuade said.

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