Protesters march peacefully through Boston streets

A day of protests in Boston that brought demonstrators out in droves culminated with hundreds marching from Roxbury to Copley Square, keeping the peace along the way.

Organizers warned protesters to “not engage with the police” as a parade of protesters streamed out of Nubian Square.

“Tonight we take the gloves off. Trump is trying to steal the election, and that is why there is nothing left to wait for, there is nothing left to say. Now is the time to shut the system down,” said Blaze Travis, a 27-year-old organizer with Socialist Alternative, one of several radical political groups that sponsored the Wednesday night rally.

Hundreds of demonstrators — armed with signs and shouting familiar chants — gathered in Roxbury’s Nubian Square before marching on Copley Square.

“Trump has shown that democracy is in shambles right now. The American democratic system is in shambles,” said Hersch Rothmel of Dorchester.

Marchers passed the Black Lives Matter road mural on Washington Street in Roxbury, chanting, “No justice, no peace! Abolish the police!”

Protesters also chanted “Terrence Coleman, say his name” as they passed through Shawmut Avenue where police shot a young, Black man of that name in 2016. The officer involved was later exonerated.

Plywood covered the windows of a handful of businesses along Washington Street, but protesters moved peacefully through the streets. Police were barely visible along the march route and the crowd dispersed around 10:30 p.m. without incident.

Mayor Martin Walsh earlier in the day urged everyone to go home after the march to help quell the spread of the coronavirus in the city.

Speaking in front of the Boston Public Library at the end of the night, Yaritza Dudley, 22, of Dorchester, told the crowd — President Trump or Joe Biden, no matter who wins the election — the fight for equality and racial justice will endure.

“It doesn’t matter who sits at the head of the table if the table was build on a broken foundation. … Our fight is not just with Donald Trump, our fight is with the racist, capitalist system,” said Dudley, an organizer with Black Boston.

The Wednesday night protest came hours after about 1,000 state leaders and activists gathered on Boston Common to demand every vote be counted in the contentious 2020 election, which hangs in the balance as key battleground states continue to tally up the ballots.

U.S. Sen. Edward Markey, who was re-elected, lashed out at Trump during the earlier rally in the Common, saying the president’s team was “putting together a plan for months to cast a cloud over this election.”

The presidential race has yet to be called.

BOSTON MA. - NOVEMBER 4: The group leaves Nubian Square as protestors take to the streets of Boston to protest the Trump administration on November 4, 2020 in Boston, MA. (Staff Photo By Stuart Cahill/MediaNews Group/Boston Herald)
BOSTON MA. - NOVEMBER 4: A person dressed as a criminal Donald Trump in a jump suit and cuffs marches as the group leaves Nubian Square as protestors take to the streets of Boston to protest the Trump administration on November 4, 2020 in Boston, MA. (Staff Photo By Stuart Cahill/MediaNews Group/Boston Herald)
BOSTON MA. - NOVEMBER 4: The group leaves Nubian Square as protestors take to the streets of Boston to protest the Trump administration on November 4, 2020 in Boston, MA. (Staff Photo By Stuart Cahill/MediaNews Group/Boston Herald)
BOSTON MA. - NOVEMBER 4: The group leaves Nubian Square as protestors take to the streets of Boston to protest the Trump administration on November 4, 2020 in Boston, MA. (Staff Photo By Stuart Cahill/MediaNews Group/Boston Herald)
BOSTON MA. - NOVEMBER 4: The group leaves Nubian Square as protestors take to the streets of Boston to protest the Trump administration on November 4, 2020 in Boston, MA. (Staff Photo By Stuart Cahill/MediaNews Group/Boston Herald)
BOSTON MA. - NOVEMBER 4: The group leaves Nubian Square as protestors take to the streets of Boston to protest the Trump administration on November 4, 2020 in Boston, MA. (Staff Photo By Stuart Cahill/MediaNews Group/Boston Herald)
BOSTON MA. - NOVEMBER 4: The group leaves Nubian Square as protestors take to the streets of Boston to protest the Trump administration on November 4, 2020 in Boston, MA. (Staff Photo By Stuart Cahill/MediaNews Group/Boston Herald)
BOSTON MA. - NOVEMBER 4: The group leaves Nubian Square as protestors take to the streets of Boston to protest the Trump administration on November 4, 2020 in Boston, MA. (Staff Photo By Stuart Cahill/MediaNews Group/Boston Herald)
BOSTON MA. - NOVEMBER 4: The group leaves Nubian Square as protestors take to the streets of Boston to protest the Trump administration on November 4, 2020 in Boston, MA. (Staff Photo By Stuart Cahill/MediaNews Group/Boston Herald)
BOSTON MA. - NOVEMBER 4: The group leaves Nubian Square as protestors take to the streets of Boston to protest the Trump administration on November 4, 2020 in Boston, MA. (Staff Photo By Stuart Cahill/MediaNews Group/Boston Herald)
BOSTON MA. - NOVEMBER 4: The group leaves Nubian Square as protestors take to the streets of Boston to protest the Trump administration on November 4, 2020 in Boston, MA. (Staff Photo By Stuart Cahill/MediaNews Group/Boston Herald)
BOSTON MA. NOVEMBER 4: Demonstrators call for counting every vote during the Count Every Vote Rally on the Boston Common on November 4, 2020 in Boston, MA. (Staff Photo By Nancy Lane/MediaNews Group/Boston Herald)
BOSTON MA. NOVEMBER 4: A man disrupts the Count Every Vote Rally on the Boston Common on November 4, 2020 in Boston, MA. (Staff Photo By Nancy Lane/MediaNews Group/Boston Herald)
BOSTON MA. NOVEMBER 4: Azarias Rivera, of Dorchester, listens to speeches during the Count Every Vote Rally on the Boston Common on November 4, 2020 in Boston, MA. (Staff Photo By Nancy Lane/MediaNews Group/Boston Herald)
BOSTON MA. NOVEMBER 4: Demonstrators call for counting every vote during the Count Every Vote Rally on the Boston Common on November 4, 2020 in Boston, MA. (Staff Photo By Nancy Lane/MediaNews Group/Boston Herald)
BOSTON MA. NOVEMBER 4: Urso Blackburn,7, demonstrates with parent Rafael Kelman during the Count Every Vote Rally on the Boston Common on November 4, 2020 in Boston, MA. (Staff Photo By Nancy Lane/MediaNews Group/Boston Herald)
BOSTON MA. NOVEMBER 4: Karen Louise Gonsalves, of Boston, cheers during the Count Every Vote Rally on the Boston Common on November 4, 2020 in Boston, MA. (Staff Photo By Nancy Lane/MediaNews Group/Boston Herald)
BOSTON MA. NOVEMBER 4: Ann Phibin holds a sign calling for counting all the votes during the Count Every Vote Rally on the Boston Common on November 4, 2020 in Boston, MA. (Staff Photo By Nancy Lane/MediaNews Group/Boston Herald)
BOSTON MA. NOVEMBER 4: Urso Blackburn,7, demonstrates with her parents Mary Blackburn and Rafael Kelman during the Count Every Vote Rally on the Boston Common on November 4, 2020 in Boston, MA. (Staff Photo By Nancy Lane/MediaNews Group/Boston Herald)
BOSTON MA. NOVEMBER 4: Beth Shapiro and Sophie Parker cheers at speeches during the Count Every Vote Rally on the Boston Common on November 4, 2020 in Boston, MA. (Staff Photo By Nancy Lane/MediaNews Group/Boston Herald)
BOSTON MA. NOVEMBER 4: Karen Louise Gonsalves, of Boston, cheers during the Count Every Vote Rally on the Boston Common on November 4, 2020 in Boston, MA. (Staff Photo By Nancy Lane/MediaNews Group/Boston Herald)
BOSTON MA. NOVEMBER 4: Senator Ed Markey speaks during the Count Every Vote Rally on the Boston Common on November 4, 2020 in Boston, MA. (Staff Photo By Nancy Lane/MediaNews Group/Boston Herald)
BOSTON MA. NOVEMBER 4: Senator Ed Markey listens as Tanisha Sullivan, president NAACP Boston, speaks during the Count Every Vote Rally on the Boston Common on November 4, 2020 in Boston, MA. (Staff Photo By Nancy Lane/MediaNews Group/Boston Herald)
BOSTON MA. NOVEMBER 4: Guy Hold and his wife, Eileen Ryan of Watertown hold signs during the Count Every Vote Rally on the Boston Common on November 4, 2020 in Boston, MA. (Staff Photo By Nancy Lane/MediaNews Group/Boston Herald)
BOSTON MA. NOVEMBER 4: Donna Small and her husband Dan Goldberg of Boston listen to speeches during the Count Every Vote Rally on the Boston Common on November 4, 2020 in Boston, MA. (Staff Photo By Nancy Lane/MediaNews Group/Boston Herald)
San Francisco 49ers quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo reacts after he was sacked by Seattle Seahawks middle linebacker Bobby Wagner during the first half of an NFL football game, Sunday, Nov. 1, 2020, in Seattle. (AP Photo/Elaine Thompson)
BOSTON MA. NOVEMBER 4: Eileen Ryan of Watertown holds signs during the Count Every Vote Rally on the Boston Common on November 4, 2020 in Boston, MA. (Staff Photo By Nancy Lane/MediaNews Group/Boston Herald)