Video by Chloe Carlson
Protesters poured into the streets of downtown San Luis Obispo Thursday evening in opposition to Donald Trump’s election to the presidency.
A crowd of about 200 people marched a total of 3.5 miles over the course of nearly two hours as people chanted, “He’s racist, he’s sexist, he doesn’t represent us!”
Protestors began at the San Luis Obispo Superior Court building on Monterey Street at 6:30 p.m., marching past the Mission, turning at the end of Higuera Street and returning through Marsh Street for a total of three laps.
Students as young as six years old participated with their parents and were joined by college students, older couples and middle-aged residents from various cities, including Atascadero, Los Osos and San Luis Obispo.
“I’m tired of America being run by misogynistic people, by racists, by xenophobia… I don’t stand for it,” Atascadero resident Haley Pinney said.
Signs with bold letters thrust into the air by protesters read “dump Trump,” “not my president” and “unite & fight for what’s right.”
“The most important sign in my opinion that is most important to me is ‘stop bigotry.’ This is the biggest problem most of us had with the president-elect — his bigoted comments against multiple groups of people,” San Luis Obispo resident Andrea Tackett said.
Throughout the protest, residents carried signs, clapped and chanted in unison, “Not my values,” “Love trumps hate” and “Donald Trump has got to go,” while offering for pedestrians and bystanders to join in.
For the two-hour period, police monitored the event, following the protesters as they made each loop. By 8:30 p.m., the protesters returned to the courthouse, chanting one last time, “We are one!”