The crowd grew quickly outside Gainesville’s City Hall on Thursday evening. Just days removed from the presidential election, hundreds of anti-Donald Trump supporters listened on as students, faculty members and community leaders painted an apocalyptic portrait of the billionaire’s impending presidency.
“I will never call that man my president,” said UF professor Paul Ortiz, who was among the first of dozens of speakers at a late afternoon rally that would continue for more than two hours.
Ortiz, an expert in African-American and Latino studies, saw his emotions following Trump’s defeat of Hillary Clinton change from ashamed Tuesday to angry Thursday, as protests against Trump sprouted across the nation.
As several supporters held signs denouncing the Republican as a racist and a bully, Ortiz spoke about his wife, a victim of sexual assault, and about his father, a Mexican who faced racism growing up in Texas.
“He called my family and my people thugs,” Ortiz said, referencing Trump’s comments about undocumented immigrants from Mexico.
Organized by a group of labor-union members, the rally was one of several acts of protest against Tuesday’s election results. In the days since, thousands have marched in about 50 protests nationwide, according to a tally by USA Today.
After suggesting Thursday evening that the media had organized some of these “professional” protests, Trump himself took back to Twitter to glorify the groups of protesters as patriots.
“Love the fact that the small groups of protesters last night have passion for our great country. We will all come together and be proud!” Trump tweeted Friday morning.
As dozens took turns speaking into a microphone on the steps of City Hall, others waved signs denouncing Trump as a racist. Still others brainstormed potential plans to halt the president-elect’s inauguration, calling Gainesville a “city of resistance.” In Alachua County, about 58 percent of voters supported Clinton over Trump, according to the Alachua County Supervisor of Elections Office.
“The fight back begins with each of us,” Ortiz said.
Diana Moreno, the program coordinator of Hispanic-Latino Affairs at UF, became emotional as she expressed concern for what a Trump presidency would mean for Hispanic students whose parents may be undocumented. Once in office, Trump hopes to begin deporting undocumented immigrants.
“I am no longer going to assume the best,” she said. “I am going to prepare for the worst.”
She recalled a time when she was undocumented after immigrating to the U.S. from Ecuador. She said the American people underestimated the strength of Trump’s base and that Gainesville needed to unite against his immigration policies.
“I need you all to tell me that you will be alongside us,” she said, sobbing.
Ariana Giampietro, a UF psychology senior, said she fears Trump supporters’ disregard for their candidate’s lewd comments about women and the sexual-assault accusations against him could set a precedent for continued abuse against women in the U.S.
“I don’t want to see this kind of behavior permeate into our society,” the 20-year-old said.
Evelyn Foxx, the president of the Alachua County branch of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, reminded the crowd of the civil rights movement and how proponents of equality for African-Americans made tremendous strides through decades of persistence.
“It was just like this,” she said. “We were fighting for rights of African-Americans. We are now fighting for rights for everyone.”
Foxx said Trump’s rise to political prominence has opened up old wounds of racism across the country. She called him “the scum of the lowest I’ve ever seen in my life” but encouraged the crowd to work together to stop his movement.
“Donald Trump is only one man,” she said.
@martindvassolo
mvassolo@alligator.org
Just days removed from the presidential election, hundreds of anti-Donald Trump supporters gathered outside Gainesville's City Hall Thursday evening to speak out against the president-elect.
