Temperatures reached nearly 90 degrees Monday, but that didn’t stop people from turning out by the thousands for a demonstration downtown.
The Coalition to March on the RNC hosted a rally in Red Arrow Park in protest of the Republican National Convention. Organizers said this rally was two years in the making.
"And from the beginning our goal has been clear. In the first press release we ever put out announcing the coalition’s formation, I was quoted, 'We welcome every opportunity to rally the masses of people across the country in opposition to the Republicans to their racist, sexist, bigoted, anti-worker agenda.' And this is still true," Omar Flores, co-chair of the coalition, said.
He was one of several speakers during the coalition’s press conference that set off the rally, followed by a march from Red Arrow Park toward the Fiserv Forum. That’s where the Republican National Convention is being held this week.
"We are marching on every Republican state slashing funding for DEI initiatives in education, every Republican voting for the right-to-work bills and every Republican signing bombs they are sending to Gaza. We are here to march within sight and sound of the Fiserv Forum to let everybody know: our coalition will fight the entire racist, reactionary Republican agenda," Flores said.
Flores said since 2022, more than 100 organizations across the country have joined the coalition.
The organization, New Orleans for Community Oversight of Police, or NOCOP, is a member of the Coalition to March on the RNC.
"We have seen the militarization of the police forces across the country, and I believe that is something to speak out against," 27-year-old Kia Thomas, a member of the New Orleans group, said.
Thomas thinks the Republican Party promotes policies that need to be pushed back against. "I guess the message that I want to send is that we aren’t going anywhere. We will continue to fight against racist, imperialist policies, racist, imperialist politicians. We will not be run over and just treated however they want to treat us," Thomas said.
Alexander Dean came from Minnesota for the rally. "Well, you can probably tell from my outfit, I’m wearing Ukrainian flag colors," Dean said.
Dean spoke passionately about what he thinks is a dangerous relationship between Vladimir Putin and former President Donald Trump, and what that could mean for Ukraine.
Dean also had a message for the Republican Party: "You can do better. You had better. You had McCain. McCain wasn’t crazy. He was not someone I agreed with, but he wasn’t crazy. You have people in your party who are competent, intelligent, well-spoken, and don’t get into fights about their golf score on national television. So, please vote for someone who isn’t going to announce their plan to be a dictator publicly. Like, you’re the party of Lincoln. Act like it."
After speakers concluded the press conference, and more members of the coalition rallied the crowd, it was time for the march.
They were chanting: “What do we want? Justice. When do we want it? Now!” You could also hear, “No justice, no peace,” and “Whose Streets? Our Streets.”
Signs read, “Stop Trump & Racist Republicans,” “Stand Up With Palestine” and “Stand Up, Fight Back.”
The crowd was estimated at about 2,500 people.
While there were no major run ins with counter protestors, there were a handful of them on megaphones at different points near Red Arrow Park.
Twenty-six-year-old Juan Santiago was among the coalition marchers. He’s no stranger to demonstrations. "Honestly, I’ve done it for such a long time. It’s not uncommon to be marching again and again," he said.
Santiago said he’s marched for different causes including against the pipeline in North Dakota and the protests for George Floyd in 2020. He said, however, that he doesn’t have as much enthusiasm for marching as he used to. But he continues to do so.
His thoughts on the Republican Party are: "They’re killing democracy. That’s about it."
Marchers followed a route through downtown that was different than the area designated for protestors to use throughout the week. But police officers stood by and allowed the people to protest without incident.
