Hundreds protest hate and discrimination in Iowa City

IOWA CITY - Hundreds marched through downtown Iowa City Tuesday evening to protest hate and discrimination.

Their stand, high school student organizers said, came in response to heightened fear since the election of President-elect Donald Trump.

'I hope that's why we're all here,” said Jade Merriwether, a student at West High, to protesters. 'Because we care about black lives, we care about Muslim lives, we care about Latino lives, we care about LGBTQ lives.”

Trump, who won the presidential election last week, made disparaging comments about several marginalized groups during his campaign.

High school students at both City High and West High led a march from the Robert A. Lee Rec Center to the University of Iowa campus, where they led chants and shared personal testimonials.

Lujayn Hamad, a student at West High, said she was harassed at school in the aftermath of the election.

'Some kid bumped into me and told me to go back home,” said Hamad, wearing a hijab. 'I've lived in the United States for seven years. I'm a citizen.”

Student speakers stressed that discrimination happens in places like Iowa City.

'People want to sweep it under the rug,” Hamad said. 'This will not be swept under the rug.”

The group, chanting, 'This is what democracy looks like” and 'None of us is free until all of us are free,” then marched toward the Iowa City Council meeting.

'As proud as I am of our high school students, they should not have to be doing this,” University of Iowa student Venson Currington said on the steps of City Hall. 'Why not? Because the message should be clear.”

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