(Photo by Ted Eytan)
By DCist contributor Julie Strupp
For the more than a thousand people who gathered in front of the White House on Saturday night, a quote popularized by Eleanor Roosevelt was the guiding theme: “It is better to light a candle than to curse the darkness.”
Grasping colorful neon glow sticks and electric candles, they came out in a show of support for those feeling discouraged and fearful after the presidential election results.
“I hope that the communities most affected by the tone of the campaign and the apparent uptick in hate crimes since Tuesday can look at this event and feel heard and comforted by the fact that people are standing up against hatred and bigotry,” said event organizer Julie Rheinstrom, who studies law at Georgetown University. “It’s so important to come together and support each other.”
Regine Delacruz said she attended the vigil so “people who might have woken up on Wednesday morning feeling afraid of what this presidency might mean to them know that there are people who are willing to continue to stand up and fight for equality and justice in this country.”
The tone of the event was quiet, somber, and a little disjointed because attendees had difficulty hearing the organizers, who were only equipped with two megaphones. Some people decided to go join the boisterous passing anti-Trump protest that passed near the White House.
Still, the crowd chimed in together to sing popular uplifting songs such as “This land is your land,” “Lean on me,” “Amazing Grace,” and the “Star Spangled Banner.”
“I think we were all on the same page with the kind of event we wanted, something quiet, respectful and healing,” said vigil volunteer Taylor Singer. “I think all forms of protest are legitimate, but we wanted an event people felt safe at, and that you could bring kids to.”
(Photo by Julie Strupp)
Attendees had a variety of reasons for turning out to the vigil.
“I want to express that I don’t want an economically-deranged bigot to run the country,” Niusha Nawab said. “I’m concerned about all the recent upticks in hateful, racist, sexist, Islamophobic actions that have been happening over the last four days.”
Although the event was intended to be a non-partisan vigil and not a protest, many brought signs with messages such as “Love Trumps Hate” and “Build Bridges, Not Walls.” Many attendees expressed concern for their own safety and for that of loved ones.
“As a black gay male college student, I find that it’s hard to be safe anywhere in this country,” Matthew Awoyera said. “I feel that being on campus, I’m not as safe because of Trump supporters who have decided to harass students of color…it feels as though no one is with me. It feels like I have nowhere to go to be safe.”
Stephanie Hunt, a Baltimore woman who came for the vigil, says she has similar fears because she identifies as lesbian and has Mexican family members. “Most of my friends are members of the LGBT community or people of color or both, and I’m scared for them and I’m scared for my family and I’m scared for myself,” Hunt said. “[Trump] has galvanized the White supremacist, xenophobic, homophobic, right wing and kind of given them the permission they’ve been looking for to lash out and do the things they’ve been wanting to do forever.”
Ultimately, attendees wanted to take action.
“I’m here as a woman, as a person with disabilities, and as a person of Mexican descent because I feel outraged,” D.C. resident Jessica Velcoff said. “To be honest, I feel thoroughly disappointed in our country because of the outcome of the election and also because of the lackluster response. I think protest is a huge part of our democracy and I hope that as time goes on more people will be out here standing up to protect the values our country stands for.”
