On a muggy September night, protesters gathered outside Philadelphia City Hall to demonstrate against the Presidential Debate about to be held at the nearby National Constitution Center. By 6:30 p.m., a significant crowd had coalesced around the side of City Hall facing Juniper Street, clad in keffiyehs and holding an array of protest signs. Several Bi-Co Students were in attendance, called to action in part by encouragement from the Bi-Co chapter of Students for Justice in Palestine. A caption on their Instagram post promoting the event read: “As the campaigns kick up, let’s show these genocidal candidates we won’t forget about Palestine🇵🇸‼️”
Both Vice President Harris and former President Donald Trump were targets of the September 10 demonstrations, with signs and chants alleging that both candidates supported the massacre of Palestinians via the ongoing Israeli-Palestinian conflict in Gaza. This sentiment was further supported by the content of protesters’ signs, which included “I will not vote for either genocide defender” and “Trump = Kamala.”
As the crowd of college students and local community members continued to amass, drummers had struck up a steady beat.
Also in the crowd were representatives of organizations such as the Communist Party USA (CPUSA) and the Philadelphia chapter of the Party for Socialism and Liberation. To the beat of the drums, speakers took turns leading chants, rallying the crowd in preparation to march.
After half an hour of chanting by City Hall, the crowd of protesters took to Market Street, marching east toward the Constitution Center. Cross streets were blocked off for the occasion, though some cars could be seen waiting to get through. In light of the upcoming debate, there was a particularly large police presence around City Hall, with police trailing the march both on bicycles and in squad cars. As the march went on, passersby stopped to look on, while legal observers in neon green hats carefully documented the demonstration. A speaker also briefly advised protesters on protocols for interacting with the police while the march was stopped at an intersection.
Sam Block ‘26 from Bryn Mawr attended the protest with a group of other Bi-Co students they met on the train ride into Philadelphia. The Bi-Co group stayed together throughout the demonstrations for safety reasons, and they were joined by students of other colleges that had arrived alone. As for why they attended, Block stated that they considered Harris and Trump’s debate “reprehensible” in the face of their “continu[ing] to fund war crimes internationally.”
The march eventually wound its way to the Constitution Center, where the Presidential Debate was to be held. Police presence continued to be conspicuous, with Block alleging that the police “funnel[ed] the crowd away from the debate and away from the public eye.”. There were no arrests or direct police interventions at that point. At around 9:30 p.m., half an hour after the debate had gotten underway, protesters began dispersing.
Though Block mentioned the presence of third-party agitators “walk[ing] around filming anyone…and yell[ing] slurs and threats,” they stated that the police were by far the most intimidating party present at the demonstration.
According to Block, police ramped up their intervention as the protest wore on, blocking off the route that protesters had previously taken from City Hall to the Constitution Center. This resulted in protesters, including Block, having to use alternative routes to leave. Block mentioned that they did not witness a single act of violence from protesters during the time they were at the demonstration, and that they did not see a clear reason for the alleged police arrests made at the scene.
With its high turnout and higher energy, the demonstration proved itself to be a robust part of the rising tension in light of the Presidential Debate.
