CLEVELAND–Lloyd Fraser, 35, is not normally a protester, but the Cleveland resident came out Thursdy in the more than 90-degree weather to make a statement against Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump using the Republican National Convention (RNC) as a backdrop, because he said that he thinks people need to do more than vote.
“[We’re] just standing against Trump, standing against hate and fear and all that he represents,” Fraser said as he and other demonstrators walked to promote their cause. “I think it will change the perspective of some people to know that there are so many people out here who believe so strongly about it.”
Fraser was one of the more than 200 protesters participating in a march on Hope Memorial Bridge in downtown Cleveland during the RNC. Organized by Stand Together Against Trump (STAT), the anti-Donald Trump group of Cleveland and other Midwest area doctors and young professionals.
Demonstrators walked along the mile-long bridge that was cut off from the convention area by the barricades. Many protesters were wearing yellow to show solidarity with STAT and carrying signs with slogans denouncing Trump.
“We’re here to stand up against the hate and bigotry that’s coming out of Trump’s campaign and some of the policies that he’s putting forward and to show that we’re a united front of people that are multinational and also multiracial,” said Margaret Kwateng, 24, a member of the It Takes Roots to Change the System.
Nay’Chelle Harris, 24, said she will also be traveling to the Democratic National Convention in Philadelphia next week to protest some Democratic policies on “militarism” and “climate change.”
“We’re here to challenge both sides of the aisle that aren’t really in the common person’s best interest,” Harris said. “We’re not only here to challenge Trump, but we’re also here to invite people who feel like there’s no other way and to show them that don’t involve throwing other groups of people under the bus.”