Franklin High School
Why was it important that you come to the protest today?
I'm out here to stand up for myself. I cannot go outside because I'm scared. There's all this hate around me. I think you need to be a Christian and white to be an American. That's really what this shows. That makes me feel like I can't go outside or do anything [even though] I was raised here. I don't know anywhere else. Everywhere, every day, I'm hearing "Go back to your country" and "You don't belong here." Just because I'm Muslim? That feels sad. That's really sad. You don't need to be white and Christian to be an American. What do they call it? America is the melting pot. But where is it? Where is the diversity?
My brother is in the military. He swore to protect your freedom and my freedom and he's Muslim. He's served for about five years. Look at Muhammad Ali—he's a Muslim and he opposed the war in Vietnam. That is Islam. ISIS is not Islam. They are not Muslims.
Franklin High School
Why was it important that you come to the protest today?
I've seen on the TV that there's a lot of Muslim people being killed. I feel sorry for them. I want to support my people. We're not supposed to kill each other. We come here for a good education and to learn what we can learn and have two cultures: our culture and American culture. It doesn't mean [it's okay] to kill my people.
Donald Trump really makes a big mistake to say that Muslims are not supposed to be here. I have American friends who are Muslim. Where is he going to go? His place is right here.
There's liberty here, freedom of religion, freedom of speech. He cannot change that. That has been the rule. [Trump] cannot do this to us. He should apologize for what he said.
Do you feel afraid to wear your hijab in public?
I'm not feeling afraid because I believe in my god. If I die, if someone kills me, it doesn't matter. But I just want to get my education and build a life. I don't want to get killed. I feel sorry for [Trump], but I don't feel sorry for myself. I trust myself.
I'm not afraid to get killed in the street. This is America. If I walk in the street, everyone will support me. If a lady is walking down the street and sees people following me, she'll say something because we are all human. We feel the same. If you cry, I cry. If you're sad, I'm sad. If you're learning, I'm learning, too. We're all the same. We're human.
To be American, it doesn't mean you need to change your color or take off your hijab.
If someone is bad, [Trump and his supporters] shouldn't blame our religion, they should blame the person who did it. Do you see me talking about their religion? No. As long as you're nice to me, if I'm your friend, welcome to my heart.
Are you afraid to wear your hijab in public since the election?
All: YES!
The Center School
Why was it important that you come to the protest tonight?
I'm a queer Black woman and I don't feel safe anymore. They say 'make America great again,' but it was never great.
People think it's okay now to be racist and transphobic and xenophobic. I just don't feel safe anymore, even in Seattle, which is called a very liberal city where people should feel safe.
What do you have to say to the adult critics of youth protesters?
We're the future, so of course we matter! Look at history. Protesting is what gets things done. I've been to three of the other Black Lives Matter protests.
Shoreline Community College
Why was it important that you come to the protest tonight?
Ever since [Trump] mentioned running, there've been these [racist] rumblings and they've been getting stronger.
What do you have to say to the adult critics of youth protesters?
We're growing up in this time and we understand things. We're the ones learning.
Mercer Island High School
Did you walk out of school today?
I didn't because not many people are doing it at my school. [At my school] we don't talk about these issues very much because it just doesn't come up. A lot of other schools were able to do that and they had a lot of power behind them. There were only a dozen kids at our school that [walked out].
Why did you decide to come to the protest tonight?
I'm the co-president of school's Queer-Straight Alliance and I'm genderfluid and I'm pansexual. Seeing a president that doesn't support [me] and a vice president who wants conversion therapy is horrifying. I wanted to stand up for that. This president does not represent [LGBTQ+ people]. You have to fight back and you shouldn't be afraid of being who you are.
A lot of my friends were too scared to come. It's hard knowing that half your country doesn't accept you, that's a lot to deal with.
What do you have to say to the adult critics of youth protesters?
That's absolutely ridiculous. This is something we've been fighting—we've been fighting for women's rights, we've been fighting for LGBT rights, we've been fighting for equal race rights. If you're not accepting that, you need to catch up. This is definitely a setback, but we have to get past that.
Students also rallied in Seattle's Capitol Hill neighborhood, read our interviews with them here.
This post has been updated.
In this video, Ramon Dompor gives us a glimpse of what it was like at Monday's student protest in Cal Anderson Park.
