WASHINGTON ― President Donald Trump had barely wrapped up his White House Rose Garden speech about pulling out of the Paris Agreement on climate change when Rachel Schragis showed up outside the gates and plopped down a massive red alarm clock.
Schragis, a 31-year-old artist, joined forces with another artist named Cesar Maxit to make the 3-foot-tall clock out of cardboard boxes and masking tape. Hundreds of people would soon join her in flooding Lafayette Park, right next to the White House, to protest Trump’s Thursday announcement. But for the moment, it was just Schragis and her clock. She propped it up so it was facing the park, its screaming message easy for passersby to read: “WAKE UP to the climate crisis.”
Advertisement
“We made this clock … so it’s clear, wherever we go when we’re protesting, what we’re asking Trump to do and what we think is necessary,” said Schragis, who is also an organizer with the People’s Climate Movement, a coalition of groups focused on the climate crisis. “This is a movement of mass agreement. A majority of this country is with us, is standing with the world. But Trump listens to a very small number of people with big checkbooks.”
Chalk it up to gorgeous weather, or Trump hitting an unexpectedly raw nerve by backing out of a global climate pact, but even for a D.C. protest this group was on fire. They set up a makeshift stage in the park and cheered on speeches by activists, politicians and Bill Nye “The Science Guy,” who warned that Trump is “jeopardizing the whole planet.” They chanted “shame” at the White House, with Democratic National Committee chairman Tom Perez chiming in with them from the stage.
Everyone seemed to have a sign, too, with messages like “I’m With (Mot)Her Earth” and “Trump’s Dad Should Have Pulled Out.”
Advertisement
“Mr. President, are you serious?” Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-Md.) said to the crowd. “We’re moving forward without Donald Trump!”
Schragis said many of the people there had taken part in the Women’s March in January and subsequent D.C. marches in support of science and combatting climate change. At this point, she said, people horrified by Trump on one front are uniting with each other on other fronts.
“I think we’re all in a moment of despair. On anything,” she shouted, trying to talk over a nearby man painted head-to-toe in silver and blasting a Neil Young song from a boombox. “A lot of these movements are coming together.”
As luck would have it, an eighth-grade class on a field trip from Chicago showed up to see the White House just as the climate rally began. It’s an annual trip for the students at Francis Parker School, a private school with progressive leanings. Kam Woodard, an eighth-grade math teacher there, said teachers told the kids this time that, if they wanted to make signs to voice their feeling on an issue, they could do so. So many of the roughly 75 students made signs about women’s rights, environmental rights and human rights in general.
Advertisement
“Everybody just made a sign, about what they felt,” said Woodard, who said it was “miraculous” that they happened to roll up in the midst of a protest.
The students fit right in. They arguably had the best chants of anyone there, which they made up on the spot.
“Show me what our generation looks like! This is what our generation looks like!” they shouted for several seconds, until they got quiet and huddled about what to say next.
”Science saves! Science saves!” one student began, spurring others to repeat after her. Another girl started up a call-and-response chant.
Advertisement
“Climate change is real!”
“Duh!”
“Climate change is real!’
“Duh!”
Reyna Smith, a middle school counselor at the school, stood to the side with pride as her students spoke out on whatever was on their minds.
“In our school, we have a mission to raise global citizens,” she said. “I don’t know a better way to exercise our mission than allowing them to use their voice.”
CLARIFICATION: This story has been amended to clarify that the clock prop was made by both Rachel Schragis and Cesar Maxit.
Our 2024 Coverage Needs You
It's Another Trump-Biden Showdown — And We Need Your Help
The Future Of Democracy Is At Stake
Our 2024 Coverage Needs You
Your Loyalty Means The World To Us
As Americans head to the polls in 2024, the very future of our country is at stake. At HuffPost, we believe that a free press is critical to creating well-informed voters. That's why our journalism is free for everyone, even though other newsrooms retreat behind expensive paywalls.
Our journalists will continue to cover the twists and turns during this historic presidential election. With your help, we'll bring you hard-hitting investigations, well-researched analysis and timely takes you can't find elsewhere. Reporting in this current political climate is a responsibility we do not take lightly, and we thank you for your support.
The 2024 election is heating up, and women's rights, health care, voting rights, and the very future of democracy are all at stake. Donald Trump will face Joe Biden in the most consequential vote of our time. And HuffPost will be there, covering every twist and turn. America's future hangs in the balance. Would you consider contributing to support our journalism and keep it free for all during this critical season?
HuffPost believes news should be accessible to everyone, regardless of their ability to pay for it. We rely on readers like you to help fund our work. Any contribution you can make — even as little as $2 — goes directly toward supporting the impactful journalism that we will continue to produce this year. Thank you for being part of our story.
It's official: Donald Trump will face Joe Biden this fall in the presidential election. As we face the most consequential presidential election of our time, HuffPost is committed to bringing you up-to-date, accurate news about the 2024 race. While other outlets have retreated behind paywalls, you can trust our news will stay free.
But we can't do it without your help. Reader funding is one of the key ways we support our newsroom. Would you consider making a donation to help fund our news during this critical time? Your contributions are vital to supporting a free press.
As Americans head to the polls in 2024, the very future of our country is at stake. At HuffPost, we believe that a free press is critical to creating well-informed voters. That's why our journalism is free for everyone, even though other newsrooms retreat behind expensive paywalls.
Our journalists will continue to cover the twists and turns during this historic presidential election. With your help, we'll bring you hard-hitting investigations, well-researched analysis and timely takes you can't find elsewhere. Reporting in this current political climate is a responsibility we do not take lightly, and we thank you for your support.
Thank you for your past contribution to HuffPost. We are sincerely grateful for readers like you who help us ensure that we can keep our journalism free for everyone.
The stakes are high this year, and our 2024 coverage could use continued support. Would you consider becoming a regular HuffPost contributor?
Dear HuffPost Reader
Thank you for your past contribution to HuffPost. We are sincerely grateful for readers like you who help us ensure that we can keep our journalism free for everyone.
The stakes are high this year, and our 2024 coverage could use continued support. If circumstances have changed since you last contributed, we hope you'll consider contributing to HuffPost once more.