By Frank Gormlie / OB Rag

It’s a reality that Donald Trump and all his transition team platoons cannot fathom, a reality that the mass corporate media disdains and a reality that drives Trump supporters crazy, but there have been mass demonstrations and protests across the country every day and night since the election on Tuesday, November 8th, for 7 straight days.

Americans – mainly young people – have been in streets in all the major cities – including San Diego – and especially Los Angeles – Chicago, Oakland, New York City, Atlanta, Portland – and on college and high school campuses, in small cities and towns.

Thousands. Tens of thousands. Across the country – on both coasts – in the heartland, in Trump territory – in all the urban metropolis. It’s teenagers doing this, high school students, even middle-school students – many too young to have voted.

They happened again yesterday Tuesday, November 15th. Take for example, this:

More than 2,000 D.C. middle school and high students ditched classes Tuesday afternoon to protest the election of Donald Trump, telling their newly elected president that, despite his campaign’s divisive rhetoric, their diverse student bodies would remain united. Washington Post

The demonstrations yesterday followed walk outs that burst out on Monday, when students walked out of schools in California, Colorado, Maryland, Washington and other states. Many declared concerns over the president-elect’s comments about minorities and the effect he will have on their communities. Other protests were held in Denver, Portland, Ore., and Silver Spring, Md.

Washington, DC

Yesterday in the nation’s capital, 2,000 middle school and high school students staged walkouts and protested outside of Trump International Hotel. At one private school, 30% of the students left. A flier posted on social media for students in the District of Columbia Public School called for the demonstration, and asked students not to disrespect police or yell obscene chants. The flier read:

“Show that DCPS students refuse to allow Trump’s campaign to divide us. We are united against bigotry.” abcnews

Students at Wilson High School organized the walkout in D.C.. They began around noon with signs like “climate change is not a hoax” and “my body, my choice.” One of their messages: they couldn’t vote against Trump in the presidential election, so the protest is a way for them to share their views publicly. Washington Post

Earlier in the day yesterday, another 1,000 high school students walked out of their high schools in Montgomery County, Maryland. School officials estimated that about a third of the Blair student body were part of the demonstration. WaPo

Los Angeles

Some of the largest and most-sustained protests have been right up the coast in Los Angeles. Monday, nearly 4,000 students from about 18 schools in the Los Angeles Unified School District participated in walkouts throughout the day, according to school police. The Los Angeles Times reported:

Thousands of Los Angeles-area high school students walked out of their classrooms Monday morning, streaming into the streets for several hours to protest President-elect Donald Trump.

Many were too young to vote but said their futures were at stake and so their voices needed to be heard. They identified themselves proudly on handmade signs and flags as Latinos, transgender and supporters of women’s rights.

Evelyn Aguilar, a 15-year-old sophomore at Collegiate Charter High School in East L.A., who protested in her school uniform said:

“A lot of people are worried about being deported and violence against them because of their sexual and ethnic identity.”

Students streamed out of numerous Eastside schools and gathered at Boyle Heights’ Mariachi Plaza and Lincoln Park in Lincoln Heights. The demonstrators then marched to City Hall for a rally. At schools in other parts of the city, such as Hamilton High, students left their classes later in the day. According to Steven Zipperman, chief of the L.A. School Police Department, there was no trouble and no arrests.

The protest was organized over the weekend. CBS reported that “The demonstrations began at Garfield High School, the subject of the 1988 film “Stand and Deliver” focusing on teacher Jamie Escalante’s successful college-level math programs.” Some carried signs that read “Deport Trump,” while others waved the U.S., Mexican and gay pride flags.

On Saturday, there was a massive outpouring of protesters in downtown LA, with estimates of 8,000 to 10,000 – and even higher. Dozens of people gathered at City Hall Saturday night and the crowd grew to about 300 according to media accounts. The group took to the streets for hours.

The evening protest was much smaller than the demonstration with approximately 10,000 people earlier in the day, which converged on MacArthur Park at 10 a.m. and embarked on an almost 4-mile walk downtown to the Edward Royal Federal Building. It was organized by the Union del Barrio activist group and was joined by several other organizations. There were no arrests in the morning in contrast to protests the previous evenings. NBCLA

Last Friday night, November 11th, a large demonstration of 3,000 people marched through downtown Los Angeles into Westlake late Friday night and back again early Saturday morning, assembling in Grand Park across from City Hall. The LAPD then issued an order to disperse and began making arrests, according to the LAPD. A total of 187 adults and eight juveniles were arrested.

Portland

Students from ten high schools in Portland, Oregon, walked out of class and protested in the rain in front of City Hall. College students from Reed College joined the gathering, holding signs that said, “Students for change” and “Love trumps hate.” The protesters marched across the Hawthorne Bridge, some of them climbing up it, while officers stopped traffic.

Portland has had some of the most militant protests. There were 71 people arrested late Saturday and early Sunday during anti-Trump protests downtown. Most protesters were cited for disorderly conduct and failing to obey an officer. Windows had been smashed at Portland businesses and there were other acts of vandalism. There have been daily demonstrations in the city. Mostly, the demonstrations were peaceful. However, in Portland, a man was shot and wounded Saturday morning during a confrontation. Police arrested two teenagers in the shooting.

A protest organizer says activists are reaching out to their counterparts in New York, Boston, Washington, D.C., and other major cities in an effort to keep Trump from prevailing on many of his issues. “Trump is going to be president, so we need to prepare for that,” Greg McKelvey of the group Portland’s Resistance said Monday. McKelvey said they want to ensure local governments fight racial disparities in policing and help address global warming. CBSNews

Seattle, Washington

5,000 students from 20 middle and high schools walked out of classes Monday in Seattle, according to a Public Schools spokesman. Police said they have arrested two men for assaulting officers in connection with a student demonstration in downtown Seattle against the election of Donald Trump to the White House. Seattle police tweeted Monday afternoon that the men are not students with Seattle Public Schools. Aside from the arrests, police say the demonstration continues to be peaceful. No further information was given about the alleged assaults.

Students chanted “We reject the President-elect,” among other statements.

Seattle’s mayor tweeted his support of the middle and high school students. Mayor Ed Murray said Monday afternoon on Twitter that he applauds students for taking a stand for inclusiveness. Murray added, “It’s important their peaceful voices be heard. Let’s look out for each other & be safe.” CBSNews

San Francisco, hundreds of people, including many families with children, marched from Golden Gate Park to Ocean Beach chanting, “Love trumps hate!”

Denver

About 200 middle- and high-school students left two Denver charter schools to march to the state Capitol, where they chanted and held up signs saying, “Millennial voice matters” and “Make peace not war.” They called out “Si, se puede” — Spanish for “Yes, we can” — and “The people united will never be divided” as they waved their signs.

Noelie Quintero, 17, said:

“We’re not going anywhere — we’re going to continue to stand strong. Even though we’re only 16- and 17-year-olds and we can’t vote, our voice matters. What we believe matters, and we’re not going to stop.” CBSNews

New York

Organizers in Manhattan carried signs in English and Spanish saying things like “Hate won’t make us great,” and chanted, “We are here to stay,” on Sunday. More than 1,000 people joined the march in New York City on Sunday that started mid-afternoon and extended into the evening. CBSNews

In New York City, hundreds of high school and college students braved the damp weather and took to the streets as well, marching down Fifth Avenue chanting “Anti-Trump” and “We reject the president-elect.” ABC News

In other cities …

Hundreds of students from a dozen Oakland high schools staged their own walk outs – taking to the streets. They called on California cities to remain sanctuaries for people who are in the country illegally. SF Gate

Ever heard of Beltsville, Maryland? It’s just outside of D.C., where students walked out of High Point High School and held a sit-in, blocking major roads for more than half an hour.

Demonstrations also erupted in New York City, Chicago, Denver, San Francisco, Philadelphia, Louisville, Kentucky and Baltimore.

And they continue … and will continue.

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Frank Gormlie

A lawyer and grassroots activist, I was finally convinced by Patty Jones to start the OB Rag, a blog of citizen journalists, after she got tired of listening to my rants about the news. Way back during the Dinosaurs in 1970, I founded the original Ocean Beach People’s Rag - OB’s famous underground newspaper -, and then later during the early Eighties, published The Whole Damn Pie Shop, a progressive alternative to the Reader.

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