It didn’t take long after the election results for Californian’s anger to boil over into the streets of its various cities.
Cal State Long Beach was no different as students paraded throughout its campus expressing their displeasure with new President-elect Donald Trump.
Communications studies professor Lucretia Wright said, “This was pretty spontaneous, I was teaching in the building right next door and I heard it and was inspired to contribute.”
The protest was held on the campus’ Free Speech Lawn in front of the school’s bookstore. In addition to the protest, students wrote positive messages in chalk along the sidewalk in between the lawn and the bookstore.
The teacher spoke with the estimated 100-plus students in attendance, about the frustration many may be dealing with following the election results.
“I’m just seeing people coming together, they’re upset, they’re hurt. It’s just the tension has been felt all day by myself, by my colleagues, by some of my students, so it’s important for us to express ourselves,” she added.
One of her colleagues in attendance was international studies professor Yousef Baker. He couldn’t help but get emotional once the microphone was placed in his hands.
“It’s important for us to understand what the problem is in our country for us to be able to organize for a resolution,” he said.
The most important fact about the protest was no one race was more prevalent than the others. It was truly a joining of hands amongst students on campus.
“It’s absolutely important for students to come out but not only that but to do it with a sense of urgency, to be able to organize the emotions they feel into a productive political movement that will produce real alternative changes,” he added.
Baker even went as far as to quote African-American revolutionaries, the Black Panther Party, in front of the stirring crowd.
He had every student put up their right first and repeat, “All power to the people. All power to the people. All power to the people.” Before dropping the microphone and walking away.
Studio art major Ramona Gomes was in attendance and expressed why she felt people were now scared that Trump is set to take over the White House in a little over two months.
“It’s because the hatred that Trump is perpetuating is threatening and is directing affecting certain Americans lives,” she said. “To have all of [our] progress dissipated would be tragic.”
She added, “I think [us being our here] says that we as a people can all see that this rhetoric is disgusting and it doesn’t stand for what we as a group stand for.”
People feel as though if Bernie Sanders was the Democratic nominee for President, things might have gone differently. Gomes agrees.
“I think [Sanders] getting knocked out of the race definitely shook the vote for the youth. Just because he was backed heavily by us and obviously Hillary [Clinton] is not Bernie Sanders and does not support a lot of the things we supported him for,” she said.
Gomes would like to see something done in order to provide safety for Americans.
“I would like to see people sitting down together to actually organize a movement. While this is just a start we need to get organized, we need to come up with a plan, we need to come up with points we are fighting for because we can’t fight this sitting on the grass, talking about our feelings,” she concluded.
