Faces of the Minneapolis Trump Protests

On Thursday, November 10, at 5:30 pm students and other locals flocked outside of University of Minnesota’s Humphrey Building.

Crowding the streets, and crossing the bridge into downtown Minneapolis, protesters chanted “Not my President” and “Down with Trump!” Some of the protesters traveled from distances of 30 miles or more to voice their outrage at Tuesday’s election results.

People of all races, sexual orientations and reasons of outrage were mixed in the crowd. Local high school, college students, and local residents shouted their anger at the racism and bigotry they had experienced in the two days since Trump’s victory.

Those in attendance came to fight for gender equality, LGBT rights, and racism in all its forms.

By 8:00 pm, the whipping blades of helicopters hovered above the swarming mob of protesters. I94 was now completely blocked off and angry car horns and screams of road rage could be heard above the chantings of the crowd.

Even as cars revved into the crowds, protesters yelled to keep things peaceful despite the actions threatened against them.

“I saw the actions of hate on Facebook and I thought to myself ‘I couldn’t just stay home. It’s not just me feeling this way but everyone around me,” said one Muslim protester. “Power to the people! Don’t go home and sleep, get out here and voice your opinion!”

Another Muslim protester spoke about why she joined the crowd of protestors. “My name is Safa, and I’m out here because I am a Muslim woman and I wear a headscarf. I feel targeted by Donald Trump. I had to do something about it. I can’t live in a country where I feel like I’m unwelcome even though I was born and raised in the United States.”

Luke, a local Minneapolis resident held a sign that read “Help America Love Again!’”  I think there is a lot of love and understanding that needs to happen now more than hate and more fighting. That’s how we move on from here.”

“My love is stronger than any hate that is forced upon me,” said a sophomore student from Macalester College.

Another student from the group of Macalester students  held a “Love Stronger” sign. She spoke about the importance of fighting for women’s rights and LGBTQ rights. “I have a very privileged identity. I’m a white, educated Christian, but I am queer. Waking up in the morning and having the thought in the morning that I may not be able to marry the person I love is the worst thing, but it’s also that everyone around me is scared. They’re more scared than I am because their family could be deported and they could even be deported. It’s a terrifying thought.”

“This is a real wake-up call for white people that haven’t been as engaged as they could have been,” said another protester in the group. “We need to stand up and support people because this has been going on for a long time and if this is what we need to do to support them, that this is what we need to do.”

“Even though it hasn’t shown up in our super liberal college, it has shown up in high schools and other universities since Tuesday,” explained one of the Macalester students about Trump’s America.   My professor told us today that she received a call from a younger student that was crying in the bathroom after repeatedly getting bullied about his race at his school,” explained another Macalister student. “They were saying things like “Pack your bags” and “get ready to leave.” This young kid didn’t even feel safe in his own school.”

A group of University of Minnesota sophomores and freshman also came out to protest.  After the results were made public, one of the students admitted, “My Trump supporter ex-boyfriend, that I haven’t spoken to in a year, tracked me down on Twitter so he could write me a message calling me a cunt for supporting Hillary.”

“We’re a woman’s A cappella group and we felt that we needed to share our voices because there are so many people that couldn’t be here.”

“This is not what the majority of the population wanted and I think it’s important that the people being disregarded by those who think it’s okay to be racist and sexist, we need to let them know that it’s not okay to be like that.”

“I recognize the privilege that I carry everywhere I go and I recognize I may lose rights to my own body, but there are so many others out there more scared than I am. They have so much to be scared about that I do, and I’m here tonight to let them know that they’re not alone in this fight.”

These students and local residents took to the streets to fight for their rights as human beings while remaining peaceful for the entirety of their protest. Men and women once divided by skin color and religion are now fighting side by side for their own safety. Fear is gripping each and every one of them as their country elected a man built on the fear of his supporters. Highways have been blocked, streets have been swarmed, yet it is a nationwide effort to show the other American citizens that they are not alone in this fight.