Thousands take over streets of Miami to protest Trump

Miami, FL – Over 4000 people took to the streets of Miami Friday night, Nov. 11 to protest the presidential election and President-elect Donald Trump. Like the dozens of major protests that have erupted across the country, this impromptu emergency call to action was issued one day after the election results were announced and immediately spread like wildfire over social media.

The massive march was a denunciation of the racist, anti-women and xenophobic rhetoric and policies put forth by Donald Trump and his campaign, as well as a condemnation of both major political parties’ corrupt practices and collusion with the 1%.

The protest began outside of Bayfront Amphitheater in Biscayne Bay, at the heart of downtown Miami. Even before the scheduled start-time, hundreds of people began gathering at the meetup location, carrying signs that read, “Not my president,” and “The DNC gave us Trump.” By 7 p.m., the numbers had swelled, chants grew louder and louder, and the group left the park and took to Biscayne Boulevard chanting, “The people, united, will never be divided!”

The massive group, led by a banner that read “Dump Trump! No hate In FL!” took over downtown Miami and halted all traffic going in and out of downtown. Cars honked in support, many drivers joining in the chants with their windows lowered. After an hour of marching north on Biscayne Blvd, the group abandoned their original route and took to the MacArthur Causeway, hopping the barriers to stop traffic from both directions.

As protesters marched down the highway for a mile, more and more people joined in. After leaving the Causeway, protesters marched back to Biscayne Bay only to retake another one of Miami’s busiest highways, Interstate 95. Once on the highway, they chanted “Muslim lives matter!” and “We reject the president elect!”

The group marched for miles from 6 to 10 p.m., never backing down, never stopping to rest. The protesters were diverse in gender, age and nationality. People marched for LGBTQ rights, climate change, peace, women’s rights and against racist discrimination. They marched against hate, fear and bigotry.

An attack on the march came from the balcony of a Miami condo building near the I-95 exit to Biscayne Boulevard, from which spiteful onlookers opposed to the march threw several glass bottles down at the protesters from several stories up. The bottles shattered on the street below; a woman and an eleven-year-old girl arm was struck and bruised, causing her to fall to the ground in tears. The height from which the bottle was thrown could have done much more serious damage.

The protest in Miami was one of three major protests held throughout South Florida over the weekend. More protests are planned for the coming days and weeks in South Florida to denounce Donald Trump. Plans are also in the making to converge on the nation’s capital on inauguration day.