Pro-Sanders, anti-fracking marchers hit Philly streets
PHILADELPHIA— Thousands of demonstrators took to Philadelphia’s sweltering streets Sunday, cheering, chanting and beating drums in the first major protests ahead of the Democratic National Convention, as the city wilted during a heat wave.
Throngs of Bernie Sanders supporters marched down a main thoroughfare to show their support of him and disdain for Hillary Clinton.
Chanting, “Hell no, DNC, we won’t vote for Hillary” and “This is what democracy looks like,” the marchers headed from City Hall down Broad Street, the main northsouth artery that leads from the city center to the convention site about 4 miles away.
Philadelphia Police Commissioner Richard Ross and other officers walked alongside Sanders protesters. Ross said he liked what he saw Sunday: a peaceful protest.
Earlier Sunday, thousands of clean-energy A Bernie Sanders supporter cools off during a march in downtown Philadelphia. Several marches and rallies were held Sunday in advance of the Democratic National Convention. activists jammed a downtown street in their milelong march from City Hall to Independence Hall, near the Liberty Bell. They held anti-fracking and anti-pipeline signs, some with illustrations such as a train surrounded by a fireball and the words “No Exploding Trains.” Others held “Bernie or Bust” signs.
Sam Miller, 82, traveled from Erie, Pennsylvania, to join the march that stretched several blocks and across a wide street as temperatures in the city soared into the mid-90s. He said he was inspired because “fracking is invading Mother Earth.”
Sunday night, more than 1,000 people joined Hollywood stars including Shailene Woodley, Susan Sarandon and Danny Glover in Philadelphia for a climate rally. They vowed to keep fighting for climate and environmental justice issues, even though Sanders, their preferred candidate, would not be driving the party’s agenda.