Loyola Students Amongst The Thousands Who Braved The Chicago Cold to Protest Trump’s Inauguration

Despite freezing temperatures, thousands of protesters rallied against President Donald Trump’s inauguration Jan. 20 and stood in solidarity against policies they said threaten marginalized communities.

The coalition of over 2,500 people and 80 different organizations gathered for a rally in The Loop’s Federal Plaza to oppose Trump’s agenda at 11 a.m., according to lead organizer for the Arab American Action Network, Muhammed Sankari. A procession through the downtown  financial district, ending at the Trump International Hotel & Tower at 401 N. Wabash Ave., followed at 12 p.m.

Faayani Aboma Mijana, press secretary for the Chicago Alliance Against Racist and Political Repression, said the organizations who made up the coalition marched for issues such as Black people’s rights, Palestinian rights, immigrants’ rights and labor rights.

“We came together to raise demands from our respective areas of the movement to march,” Aboma Mijana said. “For the last three months we’ve been fighting for this day.”

The protest began with a press meeting, where the main speakers from the organizations provided statements aligning with their group’s ideals. The speakers included members from the U.S. Palestinian Community Network, the National Alliance Against Racist and Political Repression, Students for a Democratic Society, Chicago Teachers Union, Mi Jente and the Arab American Action Network. 

Muhammed Sankari, lead organizer for the Arab American Action Network, was a prominent speaker at the event. He said the movements and organizations present at the protest have worked closely together for decades. 

“Chicago is lucky in that it’s rich in movement here,” Sankari said. “There’s a lot of people’s movements. It’s not just about us. It’s about how all of our communities are going to be affected.”

Organizers took to social media to highlight and promote the protest. The Chicago Alliance Against Racist and Political Repression shared plans on their Instagram page to bundle up and publicize the Jan. 20 march.

First-year art history and sociology major Seamus Purdy said he heard about the protest via Instagram, as well as through some people he knew at Chicago’s Democratic Socialists of America chapter. He said he felt it was important to continue the fight against the genocide in Gaza, as well as speak out against Trump’s immigration policies.

The protest came after speculation surrounding a potential Trump plan for a deportation operation concentrated in Chicago became widely-publicized, The Associated Press reported. 

“No one should be forcibly displaced,” Purdy said. “So seeing a lot of people here taking a stand has been very empowering.”

Feeling disheartened about the results of the recent presidential election, third-year political science and English major Presley Berry said she wanted to spend the day doing something she felt was productive and reflected her personal beliefs. 

“I really made sure that everyone knew that the fight for what I believe is right is still going on,” Berry said. “Despite suffering a loss with the results.”

Berry attended the protest with an organization called Cabaton Alliance, a Filipino activist organization comprised of students from Loyola, UIC and Northwestern. She wore a sign saying, “Defend Migrant Workers,” accompanied by illustrations of pink flowers. 

“There’s a lot of migrant workers in this country that are not going to be protected with the upcoming presidency, and their voices are also not often heard,” Berry said. “And so we wanted to make sure to uplift the voices of migrant workers and immigrant communities in this country.”

After reaching the Trump International Hotel and Tower, protestors chanted, sang and danced around the sidewalks until the crowd slowly started to fizzle out after about half an hour.

First-year political science and history major Madyson Szypiorski went to the protest with her roommate. She said she had strong feelings about the election of Trump, and was apprehensive about his forthcoming policies. She said she felt the significance of going to the tower, even without the presence of the newly elected president. 

“I feel like his name there in the background is like a subtle reminder of his influence,” Szypiorski said. “Even when you’re downtown, you can’t miss it.”

The protest was Szypiorski’s first of this scale, and she said it felt intimidating being there without prior experience. However, she said she thinks if students attend protests with the right intentions, they can be a really powerful experience.

Sankari said he believes more people would’ve shown up if it weren’t for the cold temperatures. Yet the appearance of 2,500 people demonstrated Chicago’s dedication to building community-wide defense against Trump’s coming repression, according to Sankari.

“We’re not going to just allow Trump to come in and carry out mass deportations and target our communities,” Sankari said. “We’re gonna fight back at every turn. And this today, you know, being in the freezing cold in Chicago is a testament to that.”

Editor’s Note: Seamus Purdy and Madyson Szypiorski are both previous contributors to The Phoenix. Views and opinions expressed in this article do not necessarily reflect those of The Loyola Phoenix.