‘Not my president,’ say Philadelphians taking to the streets

‘The elections are done. We are not.’

Tonight thousands of Philadelphians marched from the Philadelphia Municipal Building to protest the outcome of the 2016 presidential election. At 7 p.m. it looked like a low turnout, as only a few hundred people circled under the statue of Frank Rizzo to bemoan the president-elect and the two-party system.

Outside Philadelphia’s Municipal Building, a crowd rallies against Donald Trump and the conditions that brought him to the White House.

After about an hour of protesting by City Hall, the crowd started sweeping down Broad, flooding streets and blocking cars still on the road.

Police cars and dozens of officers on bikes followed the crowd in an attempt to keep the protest peaceful.

Protesters march by a damaged traffic sign.

Protesters weren’t completely united ideologically. Some had supported Clinton during the general election, and some called for a complete governmental restructuring, but all were united against the president-elect.

“Donald Trump doesn’t deserve to be President. He doesn’t have the experience. He’s just playing on the hate that is already in the country in order to make a bigger divide,” said Morgan Slutzky, a Temple University student. “He shouldn’t be in charge of the country.”

Sarah, left, with her sign that says, “Pussy grabs back.”

Sarah, who asked to be identified only by her first name, a student at UPenn, said she couldn’t isolate just one aspect of Trump’s character that concerned her most.

“I’m horrified, and I’m really scared as a professional, as a student and as an American citizen.”

As the marchers made their way farther along Broad, people peered out their windows and rushed outside of buildings either to watch the spectacle pass or to join in. And as the crowd reached Temple University, students did the same.

Students watch the protest from Morgan South.

Freshman Abby Sturgis, who came out of her dorm room to watch the marchers pass by Johnson and Hardwick Hall, said she wasn’t too worried about the protesters.

“They just seemed like they were trying to get a point across, not necessarily inflicting harm on anyone.”

When the protesters reached Temple, there were some throwbacks to the Stadium Stompers’ chant of the past year: “down with the stadium, up with the community.” For the most part, chanting still consisted mainly of “Fuck Trump.”

By 10 p.m. they were past Temple’s campus and heading farther North on Broad.

The crowd reaches Temple University.

While the march didn’t turn violent, videos surfaced on Temple students’ Snapchat Stories of protesters burning an American flag.

Philadelphia isn’t the only American city to see protests over the election results. New York City, Washington, Chicago, and other major cities, as well as college campuses, have also seen massive demonstrations over the past 24 hours.

 

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