Plans for a citywide student walkout at Seattle schools are spreading this weekend following days of protest in Seattle and cities across the country in the wake of Donald Trump’s election victory.
According to messages, emails, and Facebook posts from students and parents, organizers are calling for a walkout Monday to begin at 1:30 PM.
UPDATE 11/14/2016 9:22 AM: The kids are headed for Cal Anderson:
Students all across Seattle, will be hosting a walkout and gathering to protest the election of Trump to office. There have been several walkouts organized after the election of Donald trump. Now, students invite the community to come see for themselves why they are so opposed to Trump’s leadership. The walkout will take place starting at 1:30 from the students school of origin (included schools: Franklin, Garfield, The Center School, Nova, Sealth, and UW). Students will then meet up at Cal Anderson park (1653 11th Ave, Seattle WA, 98122) at 2:30. It’s a positive opportunity to show the greater Seattle community how much they care / are impacted by the issue. The students will also be hosting a later “Protest for Solidarity” at Westlake Park (401 pine st, Seattle WA, 98101), at 4:15 pm, to express their feelings after the election and how they plan to about it going forward. Hosted by Emma Reid, Viv Nicole, and Samantha Wisner-Simmons. “EVERYONE is welcome…” “Seattle is a diverse community, and it’s our immigrant/refugee populations, LGBTQ folks, religious diversity and colorful mix of racial demographics that makes us who we are. as students, we grew up in classrooms that reflect that. Trump is threatening our core value of tolerance as a city. We had to use our voices and numbers to show that we stand with members of our community who may not feel safe now. we’ll continue to resist attacks on those around us with any/all forms of student activism!”
“Seattle Public Schools is steadfast in our support for all students,” a spokesperson said about the planned Monday protest. “While the protests are not sanctioned by the district, SPS students do have the right to peacefully demonstrate and express their personal views.”
The citywide walkout would follow a walkout last week in West Seattle and a major demonstration involving more than 5,000 people that marched peacefully from downtown across Capitol Hill Wednesday night. Unrest and protest in major cities across the nation has continued including protests in Portland that have been declared “riots” by police after violence and property damage.
There is more to come in Seattle. City Council member and District 3 representative Kshama Sawant has lead her Socialist Alternative party’s call for a massive general strike on Inauguration Day, January 20th, 2017:
This is only the beginning. Plans are underway for huge nationwide protests around Trump’s inauguration on January 20th and 21st to send a clear message that we reject his right-wing agenda of bigotry and pro-corporate policies. We need to build a grassroots movement against threats to escalate mass deportations of immigrants and a clampdown on muslim communities, among other attacks. Socialist Alternative will be at the forefront of building these demonstrations and organizing broad community coalitions to stand united against bigotry and hate.
Mayor Ed Murray has also responded to the election, taking part in a rally at City Hall and declaring that Seattle will remain a Sanctuary City welcoming immigrants and standing in defiance to any new policies from the Trump administration.
This weekend will bring opportunities to gather — and organize — to Capitol Hill.
Sunday, a group of SPU graduate students in marriage and family therapy are organizing a community gathering in Cal Anderson Park with hopes of a non-political show of “love, support, and togetherness.” Organizers of Love Over Hate are looking for community members to be part of the demonstration. Organizers of the family friendly event hope people will bring sidewalk chalk, bubbles, and more to help mark the day. Bring an umbrella, too.
Sunday night, a more structured event is planned at 11th Ave’s V2 in a Post Election Community Response Forum “to process what happened, and develop next steps for protecting the people we love, fighting the national dialogue of hate and defending our rights.”
Local Democratic organizers are also stepping back for some soul searching. Tuesday night, the 43rd District Democrats are coming together for a “Where Do We Go From Here?” gathering.
Many smaller efforts are also popping up.
Hey, #Seattle: some #SubwayTherapy action is happening today at the Capitol Hill Light Rail station pic.twitter.com/ZtWBG3XU6r
— Molly McCue (@bluebrdfebruary) November 12, 2016
Seattle Public Schools said students who participate in the walkout Monday will not face discipline. The walkout is not a SPS sanctioned event. “Staff are not taking part in the student-organized demonstrations,” the spokesperson said.
“As a district we are responding to the requests and needs of our community and many schools are developing lessons and activities to have appropriate, post-election conversations in school buildings,” the SPS statement on the planned Monday actions concludes.
UPDATE 8:41 PM: Here are a few scenes from Cal Anderson. We’ll have more on the day’s actions soon.
“We shall overcome…”Posted by CHS Capitol Hill Seattle capitolhillseattle.com on Sunday, November 13, 2016
https://twitter.com/danniaskini/status/797979306341199873
#Seattle residents gather in Cal Anderson after overflow from V2 to Vermillion and then into the rain to talk next steps with aTrump prez. pic.twitter.com/XvtGPopOUK
— Alex Garland (@AGarlandPhoto) November 14, 2016
I realize this is just tilting at windmills, but I am so glad that I don’t have school age children in this district.
Most of these people are not old enough to have lived through two Bush administrations and Reagan and been advocates through that and gone on about their lives. Their professors have told them the sky is falling so they believe that. But its the concept of paid protesters that I find undemocratic and unsavory. Social media and blocking traffic don’t actually accomplish anything, its just venting. They have a right to do that but its just venting.
“…its the concept of paid protesters that I find undemocratic and unsavory.”
You don’t seriously believe there are paid protesters, do you? Or are you saying the right’s suggestion that protesters are being paid is what’s undemocratic and unsavory?
Jim98122x, I think David may be referring to some of other cities where it was uncovered quickly that organizers of the latest protests/riots were employed by the same nonprofit organizations that are involved in many of the protests/riots of the last 8-10 years or so. Outside of Sawant or our mayor, I personally haven’t read anything specific about our city.
It seems very strange to call these organizers “Professional”, as though they are mercenaries in it for the money. It seems like cheezy polemic to me.
The latest spew I’ve seen online from Trumpanzees is some actually blaming nationwide protests on George Soros– Like he’s an international Daddy Warbucks or Tooth Fairy, personally footing the bill for all this, and paying all the protesters. I doubt many people really believe this, but I’ve seen this bullshit repeated a couple of times. As if any of them even knew who George Soros is, before Faux News or Breitbart started telling them whom to blame.
I agree that it’s just venting. Marching and protesting in one of the bluest districts in a blue state is just preaching to the choir and will accomplish little other than inconveniencing (and eventually alienating) the people who live and work here, who more than likely already agree with you… At least things have stayed civil here. I do not advocate violent protest of any sort, but messing up your own neighborhood really makes no sense whatsoever..
I do think we need to remember that it’s not like someone flipped a switch and changed Seattle overnight. We are and will remain progressive, as we’ve been for years. Look for truly constructive things to do – like working toward abolishing the Electoral College. This is the second time in the last ,what, 20 years that a president has been elected without winning the popular vote. It’s an antiquated system that was put in place when most voters were illiterate and communications were measured in days-weeks-months rather than milliseconds.
Right? Because god forbid your children were given the chance to speak their minds.
Heaven forbid the children speak their minds during prime time TV hours, or during the weekend, or on district mandated days off, but no. It has to be when they should be learning something old and antiquated like arithmetic or English.
Arithmetic and English are too “eurocentric.”
A real world experience will be much more valuable than writing an academic paper on “what I thought about the election,” ERF.
Kids don’t watch prime time TV (or tv in general) much these days, ERF.
Please anyone reading this who is a youth or knows one log on to facebook and share “Students Protest for Solidarity!” I’m trying to organize this but it needs to reach a large amount of people
lmao oh no protests have to actually have some impact to be protests?? why can’t these foolish children do what I do, go to work, come home, drink myself unconscious and repeat lol stupid kids don’t they realize there’s no point to do anything ever
dumb children, we’ve got it all figured out
Sawant is calling for action against Trump after telling her supporters that both candidates are equally bad? In that case was her plan to call for action even if Hillary won? Or is we finding out how truly dangerous she is? How dare she assign herself the role of chief Trump hater after failing to support Hillary Clinton’s candidacy!
I wish all you haters and Sawant trolls would STF up.
And a lot of us wish Sawant would STFU. We’re probably not gonna get what we want, and neither are you. So I guess we’re even, aren’t we?
Dave, thanks….you make the same point that Danny Westneat does in his Seattle Times column today. Sawant actively worked against Hillary’s election by organizing a rally in Philadelphia where she urged people not to vote for Hillary; she called her a “warmonger” and a “tool of Wall Street; and she repeatedly urged people to vote for the Green Party’s Jill Stein, taking votes away from Hillary, and possibly costing her the electoral college in states like Michigan and Wisconsin.
In other words, Sawant helped to elect Trump. Shame on her, and further shame for now hypocritically calling for an Inauguration Day strike against the person she helped elect.
Hi Cappie, I’m not a hater or a troll. Calling me names isn’t helpful. I’m someone who voted for Clinton in order to prevent a Trump victory. Sawant told us that Trump and Clinton are the same. Trump is now President-elect. Do you still feel like they are one and the same, or are you maybe regretting your decision to not support the one person on this planet who could have stopped a Trump presidency?
500,000 people protested Park Geun-hye in Seoul yesterday … meanwhile, in New York, 8,000 people protested Donald Trump
lol
Thank you for the update!
I can’t wait until the police catch up with these lunatics. It’s called an election, not a civil war. I voted for President Trump. We won. Get over it. This lady is cursed and should be arrested. There is a lot of property damage and many people have been injured. This is not the American way. This is sedition and treason. Trump. 2016.