Beverly Smith just needed to vent.
She'd been grieving since the final votes were tallied early Wednesday morning and Donald Trump was announced as winner of the presidential election.
So she headed downtown Thursday night to join hundreds of people to peacefully protest Trump's election. The group chanted, marched and held signs disavowing the president-elect that many have called misogynistic, racist and homophobic.
Similar protests have been held across the country in the days following Trump's victory. In Louisville, police blocked traffic as the crowd wound through downtown from Jefferson Square Park to Fourth Street Live and City Hall. No arrests or injuries were reported.
Smith, 70, said the events are "the last stage of grief."
"I know it's not going to change anything," she said.
Smith said she's not "anti-Trump," but she fears the next four years under Trump's administration will be "worrisome."
By the time votes were cast on Election Day, the bruising presidential campaign had left the country divided. Some Trump supporters see a long road ahead to bridge those divisions. Some opposed to Trump fear the same.
Harley Hemming said on Thursday that news of his victory brought her to tears. The 18-year-old said she's not sure whether she'll give Trump a chance to prove himself a worthy leader.
"I don't think I'll be able to accept policies that degrade the humanity of others," she said. "So no, I don't think I'll be able to accept his presidency."
LaSue Karneh, 26, said Trump needs to transform his platform and personality if he's going to get her support.
"He’s going to have to learn some sensitivity and learn how to work with other people and other races and creeds and nationalities," she said. "Unless he can actually do that, he’s not going to succeed."
Karneh, 26, is a Liberian refugee and said Trump's stance on immigration is "disgusting and deplorable." Trump has proposed to ban Muslims from entering the country and build a wall along the U.S.-Mexico border.
"He might have the Senate and might have the House, but he doesn’t have the people," she said.
For Smith, the fear for the future is concerning. But she also feels like she missed out on history. She wanted Clinton to win so she could see the first woman become president.
"Now I don't think I will," she said.
