Anti-Trump ‘Not My President’ Rallies in Detroit, Elsewhere Continue Thursday
In southeast Michigan, demonstrators marched and rallied to show dismay over Donald Trump’s election. Some of his supporters spoke, too.
DETROIT, MI — Protesters marched in Detroit and Ann Arbor and planned to demonstrate Thursday in “not my president” rallies that occurred in U.S. cities Wednesday to decry the election of Donald J. Trump as the nation’s 45th president.
In Detroit, protesters waved signs, chanted slogans like “Immigrants, Muslims, here to stay! We will march like MLK” and sometimes raised their fists in solidarity during rush hour Wednesday along Woodward Avenue near the riverfront.
In Ann Arbor, a few hundred people showed up for an anti-Trump rally, but a follow-up rally to promote love, equality and discussion about the election outcome drew more — about 1,000 people.
“I think that more so than anything, it's a sign that we are in disbelief and shock and before you get angry and mobilized you're upset,” Nicole Khamis, a University of Michigan senior who helped organize the equality rally, told the Ann Arbor News. “We are in this first stage of being upset."
University President Mark Schlissel spoke with students for about an hour in a discussion that ranged from the election outcome to the state of the country. “We don't know what the future is going to look like, but as of now we can hold each other and that's all we can do," Khamis told the Ann Arbor newspaper.
Also on Patch
- Among American Muslims, Trump Election Has ‘Psychological Impact’
- Royal Oak Students Chant ‘Build the Wall’ After Trump’s Election
Lamees Mekkaoui, a senior at the University of Michigan and member of the Socialist Students Organization who organized the anti-Trump rally, said some of his Muslim friends have talked about “backlash they have gotten on campus.” He said some students are afraid to leave their apartments and residence halls while wearing hijabs and other religious garments.
In general, Arab-Americans and American Muslims are anxious and worried President-elect Trump’s charged rhetoric about “extreme vetting” of Muslim refugees and other anti-immigration stances will make their way into domestic policy. The issue is deeply personal in Michigan, the top destination for Syrian refugees and an area with an high population of Arab-Americans.
“It’s Just Not Right”
Arab-Americans and Muslims aren’t the only Americans who are worried about the effect the Trump presidency will have on their lives.
Christopher Martin, a 21-year-old student at the College for Creative Studies, told The Detroit News he joined 100 other demonstrators at Campus Martius, a downtown Detroit park, because he’s worried not only about Trump’s fiery rhetoric on immigration but also his plan to dismantle President Obama’s signature Affordable Care Act and other issues.
“I don’t think Trump’s views, whatever they are, are going to help the USA,” Martin told The Detroit News. “It’s just not right.”
Dearborn resident Joe McGuire brought his 3-year-old son, Oscar, to the rally, carrying homemade signs that read “we must resist” and “stand up to Trump.”
He told The Detroit News that he wanted to send a clear message to Trump in the hours after the election that showed Americans remain deeply divided and that those who oppose his policies aren’t going to fade away.
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“I wanted to be clear that literally the first day after Trump was elected he’s going to be met every step of the way with resistance and protest,” he said. “I know there are a lot of people feeling the same way. But I hope and feel they can understand that they don’t have to just sit at home and close themselves off. They can do something about it.”
If Trump was listening, there was plenty to hear in profanity-laced chants that decried racism and the Ku Klux Klan in addition to “not my president,” a chant that has become a trending social media hashtag. Someone carried an upside- down flag. Others waved signs, including a couple that read “love Trumps hate” and “bigots are not leaders.”
The protest march started out as a small gathering, but it attracted more participants and got out of hand, Steve Neavling of Motor City Muckraker said.
“Tonight it was a lot of anxiety, it was fear, it was anger — but it was also an opportunity for people to finally sort of come together and express their outrage over the presidency,” Neavling told WWJ Radio.
When police arrived and tried to control the crowd and move the demonstrators off the street, “there was definitely a lot of anger there,” Neaving said, and chants were turned toward the police.
Anti-Trump protests around the country were expected to continue Thursday. In some cities, demonstrators smashed windows and set fires to garbage bins.
In East Lansing, students at Michigan State University are planning a rally against “Hate, Bigotry, Racism and Sexism” at 5:30 p.m. In Grand Rapids, where Trump found some of his greatest support in Michigan, Grand Valley State University students were planning a #NotMyPresident rally at 5 p.m. Thursday in the city’s downtown.
Students Chant “Build the Wall”
Trump’s supporters had their say, too. In Shelby Township in Macomb County — a Republican Party stronghold that backed Trump over Democrat Hillary Clinton, 56 percent to 44 percent — a Trump supporter posted a meme on Facebook that showed President Obama hanging from a noose and the message, “we have a dream,” Motor City Muckraker said.
According to Motor City Muckraker, the now-deleted post included this status update: “Congratulations to all that supported TRUMP. You my friends are winners. Now let’s get to work and hang these traitors. Starting at the top? Public hangings in order. Start with this guy IslamaObama.”
Anti-Trump ‘Not My President’ Rallies in Detroit, Elsewhere Continue Thursday
In southeast Michigan, demonstrators marched and rallied to show dismay over Donald Trump’s election. Some of his supporters spoke, too.
DETROIT, MI — Protesters marched in Detroit and Ann Arbor and planned to demonstrate Thursday in “not my president” rallies that occurred in U.S. cities Wednesday to decry the election of Donald J. Trump as the nation’s 45th president.
In Detroit, protesters waved signs, chanted slogans like “Immigrants, Muslims, here to stay! We will march like MLK” and sometimes raised their fists in solidarity during rush hour Wednesday along Woodward Avenue near the riverfront.
In Ann Arbor, a few hundred people showed up for an anti-Trump rally, but a follow-up rally to promote love, equality and discussion about the election outcome drew more — about 1,000 people.
“I think that more so than anything, it's a sign that we are in disbelief and shock and before you get angry and mobilized you're upset,” Nicole Khamis, a University of Michigan senior who helped organize the equality rally, told the Ann Arbor News. “We are in this first stage of being upset."
University President Mark Schlissel spoke with students for about an hour in a discussion that ranged from the election outcome to the state of the country. “We don't know what the future is going to look like, but as of now we can hold each other and that's all we can do," Khamis told the Ann Arbor newspaper.
Also on Patch
- Among American Muslims, Trump Election Has ‘Psychological Impact’
- Royal Oak Students Chant ‘Build the Wall’ After Trump’s Election
Lamees Mekkaoui, a senior at the University of Michigan and member of the Socialist Students Organization who organized the anti-Trump rally, said some of his Muslim friends have talked about “backlash they have gotten on campus.” He said some students are afraid to leave their apartments and residence halls while wearing hijabs and other religious garments.
In general, Arab-Americans and American Muslims are anxious and worried President-elect Trump’s charged rhetoric about “extreme vetting” of Muslim refugees and other anti-immigration stances will make their way into domestic policy. The issue is deeply personal in Michigan, the top destination for Syrian refugees and an area with an high population of Arab-Americans.
“It’s Just Not Right”
Arab-Americans and Muslims aren’t the only Americans who are worried about the effect the Trump presidency will have on their lives.
Christopher Martin, a 21-year-old student at the College for Creative Studies, told The Detroit News he joined 100 other demonstrators at Campus Martius, a downtown Detroit park, because he’s worried not only about Trump’s fiery rhetoric on immigration but also his plan to dismantle President Obama’s signature Affordable Care Act and other issues.
“I don’t think Trump’s views, whatever they are, are going to help the USA,” Martin told The Detroit News. “It’s just not right.”
Dearborn resident Joe McGuire brought his 3-year-old son, Oscar, to the rally, carrying homemade signs that read “we must resist” and “stand up to Trump.”
He told The Detroit News that he wanted to send a clear message to Trump in the hours after the election that showed Americans remain deeply divided and that those who oppose his policies aren’t going to fade away.
Get free real-time news alerts from the Detroit Patch.
SUBSCRIBE
“I wanted to be clear that literally the first day after Trump was elected he’s going to be met every step of the way with resistance and protest,” he said. “I know there are a lot of people feeling the same way. But I hope and feel they can understand that they don’t have to just sit at home and close themselves off. They can do something about it.”
If Trump was listening, there was plenty to hear in profanity-laced chants that decried racism and the Ku Klux Klan in addition to “not my president,” a chant that has become a trending social media hashtag. Someone carried an upside- down flag. Others waved signs, including a couple that read “love Trumps hate” and “bigots are not leaders.”
The protest march started out as a small gathering, but it attracted more participants and got out of hand, Steve Neavling of Motor City Muckraker said.
“Tonight it was a lot of anxiety, it was fear, it was anger — but it was also an opportunity for people to finally sort of come together and express their outrage over the presidency,” Neavling told WWJ Radio.
When police arrived and tried to control the crowd and move the demonstrators off the street, “there was definitely a lot of anger there,” Neaving said, and chants were turned toward the police.
Anti-Trump protests around the country were expected to continue Thursday. In some cities, demonstrators smashed windows and set fires to garbage bins.
In East Lansing, students at Michigan State University are planning a rally against “Hate, Bigotry, Racism and Sexism” at 5:30 p.m. In Grand Rapids, where Trump found some of his greatest support in Michigan, Grand Valley State University students were planning a #NotMyPresident rally at 5 p.m. Thursday in the city’s downtown.
Students Chant “Build the Wall”
Trump’s supporters had their say, too. In Shelby Township in Macomb County — a Republican Party stronghold that backed Trump over Democrat Hillary Clinton, 56 percent to 44 percent — a Trump supporter posted a meme on Facebook that showed President Obama hanging from a noose and the message, “we have a dream,” Motor City Muckraker said.
According to Motor City Muckraker, the now-deleted post included this status update: “Congratulations to all that supported TRUMP. You my friends are winners. Now let’s get to work and hang these traitors. Starting at the top? Public hangings in order. Start with this guy IslamaObama.”
In Royal Oak, a group of high school students began chanting, “build the wall” in a spontaneous demonstration in support of Trump’s call for a wall along the border with Mexico to stop illegal immigration.
“We are working with our students to help them understand the impact of their words and actions on others in their school community,” Royal Oak Superintendent of Schools Shawn Lewis-Lakin said in a statement. “Our school district and each building in it works every day to be a welcoming community for all, inclusive and caring, where all students know they are valued, safe and supported.”
In Royal Oak, a group of high school students began chanting, “build the wall” in a spontaneous demonstration in support of Trump’s call for a wall along the border with Mexico to stop illegal immigration.
“We are working with our students to help them understand the impact of their words and actions on others in their school community,” Royal Oak Superintendent of Schools Shawn Lewis-Lakin said in a statement. “Our school district and each building in it works every day to be a welcoming community for all, inclusive and caring, where all students know they are valued, safe and supported.”
Photo by @Knowehlani_ used with permission
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