Collective Action In a Second Trump Term

The Protect Our Future rally in NYC was led by different organizations across the city, as well as younger protesters who will soon see their first full-term Trump presidency as activists. 

By Claudia Gohn

A smoky haze hovered around the protesters gathered on the corner of Columbus Circle and Central Park West just days after the 2024 election. The then-ongoing fire in New Jersey and recent brush fire in Brooklyn were both symbolic of a newfound demand for action under a second Trump presidency, and served as a very real reminder of one of the many perils that threatens to undermine our future—climate change.

Early on in the day, a few hundred organizers, activists, and members of the community gathered just meters away from the Trump Tower, with signs that read “We Will Not Be Silenced Into Submission” and “Immigrants Make America Great” hoisted in the air. Protesters from many different activist organizations and coalitions came together for this action, including Make the Road NY, Fridays for Future NYC, Jews Against Fascism, and Rabbis for Ceasefire.

Many experienced activists are beginning to consider how collective action may look different than it did following the 2016 election. The president-elect’s proposed policies, which organizations like the ACLU have called “draconian,” directly target a multitude of marginalized groups, especially transgender, immigrant, and BIPOC communities. The “Protect Our Future” march on November 9 demonstrated an intersectional solidarity among activists regardless of community, identity, age, or background—and while some protesters remember Trump’s first term well, young protesters are paving the way forward as they enter their first full Trump-term as organizers.

A New Generation of Protesters

Michael Magazine, a 19-year old organizer from Fridays for Future NYC, also joined the march as a medic. His job was to make sure that no one gets hurt and that if someone needs medical attention, they receive it.

Despite his age, Magazine is an experienced organizer—but most of his activism has been under the Biden administration. One of the first actions he joined was in 2019 during the Climate Strike protest in New York City that approximately 250,000 people attended. He had only gotten into activism about a year beforehand.

Magazine, just starting middle school at the time, remembers when Trump won his first election. While he wasn’t out at actions like he is today, he recalls the nature of protesting then, and how his experience in activism has been different under Biden’s administration.

“The vast majority of activism that’s been going on under Trump’s first administration was more so about awareness—was more so about influencing local and sort of down ballot electeds who didn’t have as [many] direct relationships with the presidency,” he said. “When Biden stepped in, activism took a drastically different relationship.”

But now, close to a decade after Trump's first presidential win, Magazine is optimistic about the people’s ability to organize. “I think we’ll actually see a drastic difference in that people are not going to be as naive, afraid, and inexperienced as they were during the [previous] Trump administration,” he said.

Among the young organizers, both at this protest and at various actions this past summer, was a sense of hope, and an air of authority. Not only was there a recognition of the intersectional nature of the march, but also the acknowledgement of its necessity. The young leaders in activism were devoted to driving positive change.

“When people find people, they create people power,” Magazine said. “And it’s that people power that doesn’t just help us win local elections, help us win congestion pricing, but it helps us really change what the system is.”

Diverse Motivations Among Activists

At 11:00 a.m. on the day of “Protect our Future,” members of Jews Against Fascism convened before the protest. Four members of Rabbis for Ceasefire led a Shabbat service—one of whom was Abby Stein, a member of the organization since its inception. Stein talked about her primary reasons for attending the march that day, including calling for an arms embargo on Israel, trans rights, healthcare—especially following the overturning of Roe v. Wade—and rights of immigrants.

“I’m a trans person and I remember 2016 to 2020. I’m not saying the last four years [were] perfect. It wasn’t. But it was, in a very strong way, easier and better,” she said.

The personal impact and deep scars leftover from Trump’s previous presidency and now-impending inauguration are palpable. The pain that Trump’s previous presidency and the promises he’s made, is felt across the crowd of nearly 5,000 individuals.

“I think with this action, we really wanted to send a clear message that we're still here, we still deserve a future, and we're going to still keep fighting for our rights, fighting for that future until it becomes a reality,” said Keanu Arpels-Josiah, a 19-year old activist also involved in Fridays for Future with Magazine.

“[Trump] poses a threat to literally every issue we care about and every issue we want to see addressed in the future,” Arpels-Josiah said. “And I think really there’s a cross-movement recognition of the threat he poses.”

Hope—a Catalyst for Change

One of the organizations leading the march was Make the Road NY, a group that focuses on community building, organizing, and advocacy for marginalized communities, especially immigrant and working class people of color.

Make the Road NY posted on Instagram “We are prepared to spend the next four years working aggressively to protect our futures from racist, misogynist, and classist attacks.”

As they made their way down sixth avenue, protesters at the march chanted with hope, fervor, and pain. “We are the immigrants, mighty mighty immigrants, fighting for justice and our families,” they yelled in unison.

Above all, hope is the message among the protesters. Even if there is threat of a bleak future, activists are fighting, and know that they’ll win.

As Stein put it: “I don’t just have hope. I’m convinced that justice is going to win.”

Claudia Gohn is a co-founder and co-editor-in-chief at Grassroots. She can be reached at claudia@grassrootsmagazinenyc.com