US civil rights activists on Saturday kicked off a week of demonstrations ahead of Donald Trump's inauguration as the next president of the United States.

The activists have vowed to keep fighting for equality and justice under the incoming United States administration.

Under the leadership of  Reverend Al Sharpton, the protesters marched along the National Mall toward the Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial; about two miles from the US Capitol, where Trump's oath taking will take place on Friday.

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Pre-march speakers denounced Trump to the crowd, which was chanting "no justice, no peace."

The protestors braved near-freezing temperatures and drizzle to show their support for the rights of minorities and President Barack Obama's signature healthcare law, which Trump has promised to replace with one of his own.

"We stand together, not as a people of hate, but as a people of hope. We believe this march is the first of many," Charley Hames junior, president of the Oakland, California chapter of Reverend Sharpton's National Action Network, said.

Trump won on a populist platform, and some of his campaign promises included building a wall along the US-Mexico border and tougher restrictions on Muslim immigrants. Trump also promised to act tough on US companies that move jobs out of the country.

Many people on the left side of the political divide have been angered by Trump's comments about immigrants and women and his controversial stance on against Obama's healthcare law.

The march kicked off a few hours after Trump launched an attack on US Representative John Lewis after the Democrat declared that he does not view Trump as a legitimate president.

In an interview with a media station, Lewis, a civil rights campaigner, said that claims that Russia hacked DNC servers in an attempt to help Trump win the election put his legitimacy as president in question. Responding to Lewis, Trump tweeted that the legislator should focus on his Atlanta district.

About 30 groups opposed to Trump have gotten permits to protest before, during, and after Trump's inauguration.

TagsUS, donald trump, civil rights