An anti-Trump protest was held on Pacific and Yokuts avenues in front of the DeRicco Student Services Building on April 19 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
The protest comes as a slew of Hands Off! demonstrations occur across the nation sparked by various actions by the current president. More locally this event comes as a result of last month’s protest on March Lane and Feather River Drive.
“The administration as a whole doesn’t respect the citizens of America,” said Dawn Griep, founder of Indivisible Stockton and organizer for the event. “Some of us knew that coming in on November 5 when we voted but we are here now.”
Griep emphasized the event was meant to build community while highlighting the objectionable actions taken by the Trump administration.
“When times get hard you need a community, so trying to build a community where people feel comfortable to express themselves, express their grievances and use their rights while they still have them,” said Griep.
Griep noted the visibility of the intersection and the availability of free parking on the weekends as reasons why the event was held in front of DeRicco.
Protesters lined up along Pacific Avenue holding signs critical of the 47th president, including one that read “honk if you hate Trump” which was well heeded by drivers.
“The honks are nice,” said Griep. “We do what we can and if people can’t show up, they can still honk their horns.”
Griep, the parent of an autistic child, spoke specifically about the ability for people to show up in defense of more vulnerable communities.
“Those people can’t necessarily stand up for themselves because they’re medically fragile or have disabilities,” said Griep. “So folks like me and the other hundreds of folks that are out here, we can do this part.”
While Griep organized the event the attendees included people from many different local political groups.
One such attendee was Barabara St.Urbain. St. Urbain runs the San Joaquin Coalition for Diversity Equity Inclusion (SJC4DEI) which is a local coalition that distributes information about demonstrations to otherwise disparate groups.
“If we unite we can be much more effective than if we’re 10 people here 10 people there,” said St. Urbain. “So we come together and really distribute the information so everybody knows what’s going”
SJC4DEI serves as way for local groups to communicate with each other in hopes of creating a more cohesive political movement
“Community is who we are,” said St. Urbain. “It’s a diverse group of people who comes together to make a better life for each and everyone of us.”
While the event took place on a Saturday there were still some Delta College students present. Members of the social activism club, Unifying the Education of Marginalized Communities (UEMC), were also present.
Aliza Paulino, president of UEMC, spoke about the power the voice of younger generations can have and how it had been absent in previous protests.
“From my perspective I feel like a lot of the youth don’t come out,” said Paulino. “I feel like representing the youth is so important because it’s everybody that’s getting impacted.”
Members of UEMC were out among protesters holding signs denouncing actions taken by the Trump administration including the right to due process that has been challenged in recent weeks.
“Whether you like it or not, whether these rights being taken away directly affect you, they will,” said Joseph Macias-Moreno, another member of UEMC. “Fighting for our rights is not only something that is of relevance to us, but it’s of absolute importance.”
Importance of community was a throughline of the event.
“We gotta remember that we are stronger together,” said Paulino. “The faster we’re able to realize that the faster we’re able to bring change.”
Griep is also organizing an event in front of Stockton City Hall for May Day and intends to return to Delta on May 10 for another Hands Off! protest.
“The administration wants to keep on going, we’re gonna keep going too,” she said of Trump.
