Photos: G.Cruz Photography
On Nov. 28, over 150 people rallied against Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump at Robarts Arena and Sarasota County Fairgrounds. The rally focused on support for refugees and immigrants, as well as other marginalized communities, in the face of racist and bigoted attacks. The rally, called by the ANSWER Coalition and UNO: United Nations, was one of the largest the small, conservative city of Sarasota has seen in recent years.
Activists arrived early in the morning with signs reading “Los derechos inmigrantes y refugiados son derechos humanos,” or in English, “Immigrant and refugee rights are human rights!” By noon, people of all ages and from around the Suncoast were chanting in a powerful group stretching along Fruitville road.
“My family came here to work and have a better quality of life,” said Alondra Muñoz, whose grandparents, parents and aunts came from Mexico. “If it wasn’t for their sacrifices to just immigrate to the USA and leave everything they know behind I wouldn’t have been born here so I’m really thankful for that.”
Marisol Guerrero, Muñoz’s mother, immigrated to the U.S. 20 years ago to be with her father. A farmworker and chef, Guerrero’s father worked tirelessly to send his five daughters to private school.
“My husband is ‘illegal.’ My little girl, she can’t live without daddy,” said Guerrero. “Maybe Trump is racist. Immigrants just come to work. Like my husband, he works all day, only one day off, and he don’t ask for any help. In Mexico, it’s not easy to live. The family can’t afford it. That’s why they come here, to make more money.”
Large groups of Trump supporters screamed “Go home” at demonstrators. One man stood nearby holding a sign that read “W*tb*cks r criminals.” However, the rally quickly became the main spectacle for anyone outside the arena, outshining even Trump’s private helicopter and rented elephant. The chanting could be heard for blocks.
“I’m out here because Donald Trump makes my skin scrawl,” said Julie Shoults, a Pine View High School student who came with several friends. “His opinion on Syrian refugees is really disturbing. They should be allowed into this country. He thinks one of them will be a terrorist but it’s such a thorough screening process, it’s very unlikely. It’s basically just Islamophobia.”
Activists took the fight to Trump on the inside of the arena as well. Roberto Ojeda, a community organizer at Eckerd College, and Stella with Black Lives Matter: Tampa, called out Trump for his racism while he spoke. A throng of police and security personnel took Stella out of the building.
“My goal was to bring attention back to the issues of people who don’t have the same power of voice or the same accessibility to resources or even the same chance of life,” said Stella. “I started saying, ‘What about Black and Brown lives that are lost every day to guns? What about Black and Brown lives that are shot down every day disproportionately?”
Police attempted to block access to the road when the rally mobilized toward the arena. In a courageous display of people power, demonstrators marched anyway to the edge of the arena property, where they rallied for some time in the face of dozens of police officers and hostile Trump supporters.
Many activists expressed outrage over Trump’s impersonation of a reporter with disabilities. Diane Engster, a disability rights attorney and caregiver for her 91-year-old mother, told Liberation News why she decided to protest.
“In July we just celebrated the 25th anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act. We have 25 years now showing that disability rights are civil rights and we have equal rights with any person including Donald Trump,” said Engster.
Saturday’s rally, following on several other #DumpTrump rallies nationally, reached thousands of people on the Suncoast of Florida. Its message: Take the threat of Trump seriously, but also take seriously the people’s ability to resist.
