GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. -- Hundreds of people marched through downtown Grand Rapids in a peaceful protest to show their opposition to President-elect Trump.
It started at Rosa Parks Circle, just days after Republican nominee Donald Trump won the presidency in a stunning victory. This protest follows others across the nation protesting the president-elect.
“I think we are a really powerful community and if we stand together and focus on how we are alike rather than how we are different then we can promote positive change,” said Megan Bardenhagen, a GVSU student who helped organize the protest.
The event was peaceful, but traffic was blocked as they moved through the city. The streets were filled with people carrying signs saying"Not My President" and "Dump Trump" in the streets.
“I don’t want nobody to lash out tonight," said protester Nantai Makura. "I want everyone to be peaceful so there can be unity, you know? There’s nowhere in history that we resolved something by violence. But we can easily resolve something by getting together.”
Anger and frustration with the election results fueled the event, shared between protesters and the president-elect supporters alike.
"I think a lot of these kids over here received a participation trophy when they lost at soccer," said Mark Bowman, a Trump supporter. "They don't know how to gracefully lose."
Not every protester at the event voted for Hillary Clinton, or were even Clinton supporters, says Joshua Haggard. Haggard says the purpose of the event was to show solidarity and unification with minority groups who may feel threatened under the new president.
Trump himself responded to the nationwide protests, claiming that they're unfair.
The President-elect met with sitting President Obama Thursday morning to discuss transition plans. It was the first time they've met in person.
