Thousands of students across the country, from Maryland to Washington state, staged walkouts on Monday to protest the election of Donald Trump as president.
Since President-elect Donald Trump defeated Democrat Hillary Clinton on Nov. 8, students have walked out of class in protest in Des Moines, Iowa; Omaha, Neb., Portland, Ore., Los Angeles and Oakland, Calif., and other cities.
The protests have come amid several reported incidents of harassment and bias attacks directed at minorities since the election.
“Say it loud. Say it clear. Immigration, welcome here,” students shouted in Los Angeles on Monday, where more than 1,000 students from the city’s predominantly Hispanic east side protested.
About 5,000 middle and high school students walked out of class in Seattle on Monday and marched through the city’s downtown.
They carried signs saying, “Not my president” and “Love Wins,” according to the Associated Press.
The news agency reported that students said they joined the protest because of the divisive rhetoric during the campaign or because they wanted to show solidarity for friends and Muslim and immigrant students.
A senior at Garfield High School in Los Angeles told the local KOMO News that student protesters weren’t “rejecting that Donald Trump won this election.”
“We are here to tell Trump that we have an agenda he needs to meet if he wants to represent America,” the student told the television station.
In Denver, 200 middle and high school students who attend charter schools also joined in protest, with signs like “Millennial voice matters” and “Make peace not war,” the AP reported.
In Portland, where protests against Trump’s win last week turned violent, several hundred students walked to City Hall, according to the AP.
Approximately 800 students left Montgomery Blair High School in Montgomery County, Md., a suburb of Washington. Some attended a rally at a football stadium, while others continued to march along the street. Students from other schools joined them as they marched toward downtown Silver Spring, Md.
East Los Angeles high school students protest against the election of President-elect Donald Trump in downtown Los Angeles on Nov. 14. Some carried signs that read “Deport Trump,” while others waved the U.S., Mexican and gay pride flags. --Nick Ut/AP