Anti-Trump protests start a week before inauguration with Rev. Al Sharpton's MLK civil rights march in D.C. and a Black Lives Matter demonstration outside Trump Tower
- Rev. Al Sharpton led the D.C. MLK march that turned into an anti-Trump rally
- Protesters shouted chants of 'we will not be Trumped' and 'love Trumps hate'
- Black Lives Matter members also gathered outside of Trump Tower on Saturday
- These protests come a week before Trump's inauguration on January 20
Marchers took to the streets of Washington D.C. and outside of Trump Tower to protest the president-elect, a week before his inauguration.
Nearly 2,000 protesters filled several blocks in D.C., despite the rain and cold weather, as they gathered for Rev. Al Sharpton's Martin Luther King Jr. Day march that also turned into a rally against Donald Trump.
Civil rights leader Sharpton had organized Saturday's We Shall Not Be Moved march and rally in D.C. ahead of Monday's Martin Luther King Jr. Day holiday.
Rev. Al Sharpton organized a civil rights march for Martin Luther King day, which also turned into a rally against Trump. The crowd shouted chants of 'no justice, no peace' and' love Trumps hate'
Civil rights advocates marched to honor the Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr. in Washington, D.C. on Saturday. The event was organized by Rev. Al Sharpton
Those in attendance cheered when one speaker refereed to the comments of Georgia Rep. John Lewis, who has said he will not attend Trump's inauguration and, an interview with NBC's Meet the Press set to air Sunday, that he doesn't consider Trump a 'legitimate president.'
In New York City, protesters from all five boroughs traveled from their destinations to meet at Trump Tower where they called for a face-to-face meeting with Trump.
The goal of the meeting would be to hold the president-elect 'accountable for the promises he made in our community,' said Hawk Newsome, president of Black Lives Matter New York.
Black Lives Matter activists march in front of Trump Tower to demand a face-to-face meeting with the president-elect, on Saturday
Black Lives Matter Kandy Freeman marches stands in front of Trump Tower in New York City on Saturdayh. Members hoped to hold Trump 'accountable for the promises he made; to the black community
Holding umbrellas and bundled against temperatures in D.C's mid-30s temperatures, protesters chanted 'no justice, no peace' and 'we will not be moved', as well as anti-Trump messages of 'we will not be Trumped' and 'love Trumps hate.'
They marched from the Washington Monument to a park near the Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial, where Rev. Sharpton gave a speech.
He said: 'We come not to appeal to Donald Trump, because he's made it clear what his policies are and what his nominations are.
Rev. Al Sharpton (left) speaks as mother of Trayvon Martin Sybrina Fulton (second right) and mother of Eric Garner Gwen Carr (third right) listen during the We Shall Not Be Moved rally Washington, DC
'We come to say to the Democrats in the Senate and in the House and to the moderate Republicans to 'Get some backbone. Get some guts.'
'We didn't send you down here to be weak-kneed,'
Sharpton called on marchers to oppose Trump's nominee for Attorney General, Alabama Sen. Jeff Sessions, and asked the crowd if they were willing to visit their senators' offices to oppose the nomination.
He told them: 'We need to make some house calls. We need to stay a little while.'
He later told The Associated Press those visits, involving a number of groups, would begin within the next 10 days.
Black Lives Matter activist Hawk Newsome rallies activists in front of Trump Tower in New York City
Protesters also gathered Saturday to support immigrant rights at rallies around the U.S., including in Washington, denouncing Trump's anti-immigrant rhetoric and his pledges to build a wall on the U.S.-Mexican border and to crack down on Muslims entering the country.
The Washington crowd urged Trump and the Republican-controlled Congress not to undo the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, aimed at helping people who were brought to the country as children.
Joining Sharpton were family members of Eric Garner, Trayvon Martin and Walter Scott, black men whose names have become rallying cries following their deaths.
Joining Sharpton were family members of Eric Garner, Trayvon Martin and Walter Scott, black men whose names have become rallying cries following their deaths. Mother of Trayvon Martin Sybrina Fulton (left) and mother of Eric Garner Gwen Carr (second left) listen during the rally
'When we leave here we have work to do,' said Gwen Carr, the mother of Eric Garner, who died in 2014 on Staten Island, New York, after a white officer placed him in a chokehold.
Carr and Sharpton talked about voting rights, criminal justice reform, health care and 'a living wage' as issues marchers should care about.
Sybrina Fulton, whose son Trayvon Martin was fatally shot by neighborhood watch volunteer George Zimmerman in Florida in 2012, asked marchers to 'stand up and make a difference in your community.'
Marchers themselves expressed a range of emotions about Trump. Debra Conyers of East Orange, New Jersey, said she was a toddler in 1963 when Martin Luther King gave his 'I Have a Dream' speech.
Black Lives Matter activists march in front of Trump Tower protesting the president-elect
She said Obama 'helped Wall Street' and 'helped Main Street.' As for Trump: 'I'm waiting to see how it unfolds,' she said.
Alicia James, a 48-year-old marketing consultant from New York City, said eight years ago she stood with her then 12-year-old son on the National Mall for Obama's first inauguration.
She said she doesn't want to see Republicans repeal the Affordable Care Act or undo other parts of Obama's legacy, but, she said, if it happens: 'You can't erase the impact he has had on this country.'
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