Marchers gather in worldwide protest of financial institutions 'profiting off the climate crisis'

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NEW YORK (AP) — Thousands of activists marched down Park Avenue and turned down Billionaires' Row toward Trump Tower in New York Saturday to “Make Billionaires Pay,” calling for climate justice, democracy, free speech, gender equality, a stop to the Trump's immigration crackdown and a ceasefire in Gaza.

Their signs and reasons for taking to the streets were diverse, but many said the march highlighted a common theme behind the issues they stood for: that a small, elite class of the wealthy and powerful consistently prioritized profits over people's lives.

“I don't see them as movements. I don't see them as organizations. I just see humanity. We are all on this Earth. This is our mother," said Mahaishuwea, whose name means Eagle Woman in the language of the Hidatsa tribe, which is based in North Dakota.

As marchers gathered, she spoke about her personal experiences growing up on the Fort Berthold Indian reservation, where she survived cancer. Standing in front of investment management company Blackstone's headquarters, she connected the violent history of colonization and resource extraction on Indigenous lands to the present-day greed of the powerful. “They have a sickness,” she said.

Demonstrations have been planned around the world this week ahead of the United Nations General Assembly and New York Climate Week. Despite years of international conferences, negotiations and treaties, countries have continued to increase their emissions of carbon dioxide and other planet-warming greenhouse gas emissions, fueling more frequent and intense extreme weather events. 2024 was the hottest year on record, and the Trump administration has been working to roll back foundational environmental rules. This has freed the way for oil and coal industries to pollute more while presenting more roadblocks to wind and solar energy development.

Tamika Middleton, managing director of the Women's March, said that although it sometimes can be challenging to bring together people who are passionate about different causes, this year the intersections between them felt clearer. “The climate crisis, economic fights and immigrant fights are all really one big fight,” she said.

The crowd stretched for over four city blocks and passed by luxury stores like Louis Vuitton, Bergdorf Goodman and Tiffany & Co. Some carried enormous papier-mache puppets of Elon Musk, Jeff Bezos and Mark Zuckerberg. Several grabbed the edges of a 160-foot “climate polluters bill” calling out the economic damages wrought by extreme weather events made worse by the carbon emissions of major polluting companies.

Others dressed as the Statue of Liberty, rang cowbells and waved flags with the Star Wars character Princess Leia or homemade signs inked in sharpie and paint. One simply read: “Free Kimmel.”

Tatiana Cruz was one of the people holding up the puppet of Elon Musk. “Eat the rich, that's the main message,” she said, smiling. But she also explained that this was her first year actively protesting more after two of her friends were deported after being detained by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Since then, she has gotten more involved in movements for migrant rights, Palestinian liberation and fighting climate change.

“The monster up top is similar in a lot of different scenarios,” she said.

Julia Donahue-Wait had come out from the South Bronx with a group of families who had started organizing together and also described the many causes present at the march as interconnected. Her young daughter Eurydice has grown up on picket lines and helped with the poster painting. Behind her, another protester held a sign: “Our work is love," it read.

“It's all people without power taking it back,” Donahue-Wait said. “What we say to the kids is, we have safety and we need to stand up for people who don't have safety.”

Mahaishuwea said although many people are scared, she thought it was important to show up.

Her 12-year-old daughter is back at home. But she wants to teach future generations how to speak up, and “to show people we're not afraid,” she said.

At the end of the march, protesters held a five-minute moment of silence during which they sat in front of the Trump International Hotel and Tower.

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