Chicago, IL – After a day of protests and walkouts on the campuses of DePaul, Loyola and the University of Illinois at Chicago, 5000 people rallied and marched back and forth across Chicago’s Loop, Jan. 20, in opposition to the racist agenda of President Trump.

At one point, about 1000 of the marchers gathered on the bank of the Chicago River, in the shadow of Trump Tower. Kofi Ademola of Black Lives Matter led everyone in turning and raising a middle finger salute to the giant Trump sign.

Nesreen Hassan from the U.S. Palestinian Community Network delivered a statement that read, “We pledge to continue our resistance to the attacks coming from the likes of Illinois Governor Bruce Rauner and Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel, from the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and from the Chicago Police Department.” There were passionate speeches from immigrant activists, as well as the patriotic Filipino youth organization, AnakBayan.

One common theme was to reject the message from the Democratic Party leadership to give Trump ‘the benefit of the doubt.’ Frank Chapman of the Chicago Alliance Against Racist and Political Repression pointed out that Trump’s inaugural address was a call to attack the oppressed, particularly Muslims, but also the Black community. Chapman challenged those gathered to prepare for a great battle, and to defeat the attacks coming down from the administration.

#ChicagoIL #US #PeoplesStruggles #Protest #BlackLivesMatter #Trump