NEW YORK (AP) — Thousands of activists marched along Park Avenue and turned down Billionaires’ Row toward Trump Tower in New York on Saturday, rallying behind the slogan “Make Billionaires Pay.” They were advocating for climate justice, democracy, free speech, gender equality, an end to Trump’s immigration policies, and a ceasefire in Gaza.
Their signs and motivations were varied, yet many participants emphasized a shared theme linking their causes: the notion that a privileged elite consistently prioritizes profit over the welfare of people.
“I don’t see them as movements. I don’t see them as organizations. I just see humanity. We are all on this Earth. This is our mother,” shared Mahaishuwea, whose name means Eagle Woman in the Hidatsa language. The Hidatsa tribe is located in North Dakota.
As protesters organized, Mahaishuwea reflected on her experiences growing up on the Fort Berthold Indian reservation and surviving cancer. Standing before Blackstone’s headquarters, she drew connections between the historical colonization and exploitation of Indigenous territories and the ongoing greed of the wealthy. “They have a sickness,” she stated.
Protests are set to occur worldwide this week in anticipation of the United Nations General Assembly and New York Climate Week. Despite years of international gatherings, negotiations, and agreements, many nations continue to raise their levels of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases, intensifying climate-related events. The year 2024 was the hottest on record, with the Trump administration dismantling key environmental regulations. This deregulation benefits oil and coal industries at the expense of wind and solar energy advancements.
Tamika Middleton, the Women’s March managing director, noted that while it can be difficult to unite people with different passions, this year the overlapping nature of the issues was more evident. “The climate crisis, economic fights and immigrant fights are all really one big fight,” Middleton remarked.
The crowd stretched for over four city blocks and passed by luxury stores like Louis Vuitton, Bergdorf Goodman and Tiffany & Co. Some carried enormous papier-mache puppets of Elon Musk, Jeff Bezos and Mark Zuckerberg. Several grabbed the edges of a 160-foot “climate polluters bill” calling out the economic damages wrought by extreme weather events made worse by the carbon emissions of major polluting companies.
Others dressed as the Statue of Liberty, rang cowbells and waved flags with the Star Wars character Princess Leia or homemade signs inked in sharpie and paint. One simply read: “Free Kimmel.”
Tatiana Cruz was one of the people holding up the puppet of Elon Musk. “Eat the rich, that’s the main message,” she said, smiling. But she also explained that this was her first year actively protesting more after two of her friends were deported after being detained by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Since then, she has gotten more involved in movements for migrant rights, Palestinian liberation and fighting climate change.
“The monster up top is similar in a lot of different scenarios,” she said.
Julia Donahue-Wait had come out from the South Bronx with a group of families who had started organizing together and also described the many causes present at the march as interconnected. Her young daughter Eurydice has grown up on picket lines and helped with the poster painting. Behind her, another protester held a sign: “Our work is love,” it read.
“It’s all people without power taking it back,” Donahue-Wait said. “What we say to the kids is, we have safety and we need to stand up for people who don’t have safety.”
Mahaishuwea said although many people are scared, she thought it was important to show up.
Her 12-year-old daughter is back at home. But she wants to teach future generations how to speak up, and “to show people we’re not afraid,” she said.
At the end of the march, protesters held a five-minute moment of silence during which they sat in front of the Trump International Hotel and Tower.
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