Pittsburgh residents protest Trump at Point Park

In the fifth day of protests since the presidential election concluded last Wednesday, about 100 Pittsburgh residents waved signs and chanted in unison Sunday afternoon in the latest show of opposition to President-elect Donald Trump.

The crowd –– mostly dressed in dark colors except for a few makeshift American and rainbow flag capes –– huddled in a semi-circle around a microphone before the march, exchanging stories of hardships faced as LGBTQ+ people, women, immigrants and people of color, and encouraging messages of how to overcome hatred.

The protesters –– whose ages ranged from toddlers to the elderly –– held handmade signs including “Trump Makes America Hate Again,” “Full Rights for ALL Immigrants” and “Love is Our Radical Revolution.”

Creative Productions –– a music production studio –– hosted the demonstration, which began at 1 p.m. at Point State Park and featured alternating impromptu speakers from within the crowd. After the demonstration, the crowd began a march at about 4:30 p.m. through the North Side, Downtown, Station Square and ended at 6:30 p.m. at Wood Street and Ft. Pitt Boulevard.

Taylor Goel, the Pittsburgh Coordinator for ANSWER Coalition –– the Act Now to Stop War and End Racism Coalition, which is an umbrella group of multiple civil rights protest groups –– spoke at the demonstration multiple times, expressing his frustration with Trump’s disdain for immigrants.

“It is crucial that communities under attack by the bigotry that Trump represents unite in action against the oncoming Trump program,” Goel said.

Goel was just one of hundreds of protesters who have hit Pittsburgh’s streets since Trump’s election. In the early hours of Wednesday morning, immediately after it became apparent Trump would win the election, hundreds of students gathered in the streets of campus to protest the president-elect. The protesters circled around campus, following Fifth and Forbes avenues, several times before arriving at the patio of Hillman Library and forming a “healing circle” around a group of Trump supporters.

Several more protests took place in the following several days, including one Downtown and one in East Liberty, where police used smoke bombs to scatter the crowd.

The protesters Sunday walked down Liberty and Seventh avenues chanting “Sexist, racist, anti-gay, Donald Trump go away,” “Love Trumps Hate” and “Black Lives Matter.”

As the protest continued, it was met with supporting honks from passing cars and encouraging shouts from bystanders on sidewalks.

At one point, Vance Moss, a Carnegie Mellon University alumnus, chanted “Trans Lives Matter” and “Trump is not my President” along Liberty Avenue with the rest of the protesters.

“I need the people who are fearing for their lives right now –– who are facing assault and ridicule from the bigots who feel validated by Trump’s victory –– to know that they aren’t alone,” Moss said.

Coty Alan –– a 22-year-old from Squirrel Hill –– said he felt the electoral college cheated Hillary Clinton out of an election victory.

“This election, this outcome, will affect all of us. President-elect Trump’s campaign and ultimate win has brought out a hate that we knew existed but did not fathom the extent of,” Alan said.

For Moss, the protest served as a wake-up call for individuals who don’t understand the fear and anger being felt by many after Tuesday’s election.

“I need the folks who don’t see this affecting their own lives at all to see our outrage and know how dire the situation really is, so that they’ll get out of their comfortable bubble and start thinking critically about what they stand for, or to reach out to take care of their Muslim and Latino and queer neighbors,” Moss said.