“No war, no hate!”
“Black lives matter!”
Protesters gathered on the New York Public Library steps Monday evening in anticipation of President Donald Trump’s arrival in the city—the first time he is scheduled to stay the night in his opulent home high in Trump Tower since becoming president.
The solidarity march was billed as a way to fight back against neo-Nazis and white supremacists who shook Charlottesville, Virginia, with violence on Friday night and Saturday. Those clashes turned deadly when white nationalist James Alex Fields Jr. drove through a crowd of anti-fascist counterprotestors, killing one and leaving at least 19 others injured. Fields has been charged with second-degree murder and was denied bail at his first courtroom hearing on Monday.
The events in Charlottesville triggered numerous anti-racism protests all across the country. Monday’s protest in New York City drew activists from a coalition of groups, including Black Lives Matter and Gays Against Guns.
Marya Schock, a history professor, came to the protest with her father, Don, and her 11-year-old son, Elias. “More and more people need to take to the streets until the vast majority of the American will is articulated,” she said.
Hawk Newsome, president of Black Lives Matter Greater New York, was at the New York march on Monday and had also been present at the Charlottesville rally over the weekend. “Their celebration of hate was stopped by people with love in their hearts,” he said.
