Several local activist groups organized a march through the Cedar-Riverside neighborhood Wednesday night to protest the two-party system of American democracy and the re-election of Donald Trump.
Before the march, speakers from Students for a Democratic Society (SDS), Climate Justice Committee, Minnesota Workers United, Anti-War Committee, Twin Cities Coalition for Justice and the Minnesota Immigrant Rights Action Committee (MIRAC) spoke to a crowd of more than 100 protesters advocating for freedom of expression, equality and a departure from the two-party system.
Protest leaders held an assembly around 5 p.m. next to Mayday Books, a non-profit bookstore that collects and sells left-wing literature. During the assembly, a host of speakers from various groups from the Twin Cities and Greater Minnesota advocated for their causes and a democratic society without a two-party system.
Among the speakers was Neil Radford, a member of the Minnesota Workers United.
Radford, who is also a member of a local teachers union, said the U.S.’ class struggles are similar to those marginalized people face globally.
“The determination and sacrifices of the martyrs of our movements have brought us to this moment,” Radford said. “The same is true globally, as the heroic resistance of oppressed peoples, from Palestine to the Philippines, deal incredible blows against the American empire every single day.”
Although the protest was primarily led by students at the University of Minnesota and leaders of local activist groups, a majority of the crowd was community members.
Joe Callahan, a member of the Solidarity Community in the Americas, said the election results pushed him to mobilize.
“I wanted to be here after what happened last night,” Callahan said. “It’s going to be ugly, or uglier, with Donald Trump for another four years.”
During the assembly, speakers from SDS said they planned to continue protests until the University divests from Israel.
Shae Ross, a first-year student at the University and SDS member, said the University lifted their interim suspension Tuesday, which was imposed as a result of their involvement in the Morrill Hall occupation on Oct. 21.
“They did conclude that we did not pose any ongoing threat to campus,” Ross said. “I think a lot of that was because we had professors writing in for us, we had petitions sent out by several different organizations and members of faculty and we had student call-ins and call-ins from across the country.”
Although their suspension was lifted, Ross said they and several other SDS members are still awaiting a disciplinary hearing, which will decide their official punishments from the University.
“It could be anywhere from just a couple of meetings with admin to an expulsion, we really don’t know what it’s going to look like,” Ross said. “Either way, we’re going to keep fighting and we’re going to keep making sure that our voices are heard.”
After two hours of demonstration, the protest ended around 7 p.m.
