Kennedy High students walk out to protest hate, discrimination

CEDAR RAPIDS - On her way into school Thursday morning, Muna Mohamed, 17, walked past a row of pickup trucks with American flags mounted in the truck beds and Trump yard signs positioned in the windows.

Wearing a headscarf and a long red dress, the Kennedy High student said a boy told her 'this is America” and if she didn't like it, she should leave.

Another student, 14-year-old Dalissyara Cinkah said she's been called a racial slur at school on multiple occasions since Election Day.

Both joined dozens of students who walked out of school Thursday morning in protest of acts of discrimination and hatred they say have been emboldened by President-elect Donald Trump.

'A lot of these people have stories to tell since Trump's election,” said 17-year-old Afnan Elsheikh, who organized the walkout.

A counterprotest of about a dozen students grew as they walked past the school parking lot, where the trucks were parked.

'If you hate my country, you can get out,” a boy yelled from the bed of a black pickup truck.

Austin Stattery, 18, said the counterprotest was to 'support our freedoms, too.” Another student denied any of them had spoken to Muna that morning.

'They think we're protesting Trump; we're protesting hate,” said Dalissyara as she walked down 42nd Street NE. 'What does that say? ... It's not political. The fact that this seems political - what does that say about our politics?”

The students walked about a mile and a half to Edgewood Road, with handmade signs reading 'every student belongs” and 'you cannot unify with hate,” while counterprotesters drove back and forth along their route, flags whipping in the wind.

At the front of the march was another American flag - which one student admitted he'd taken from one of the trucks.

'America's where I live, and I really hope it gets better instead of worse,” said Zayshawn Robinson, 16, walking next to the student carrying the flag.

Police officers and school administrators were present along the route. While a few words were exchanged between the two opposing groups, School Resource Officer Charity Hansel said both protests were peaceful.

'They want to get their message out,” Hansel said. 'And this is how it's supposed to be done.”

Principal Jason Kline said students are to receive an unexcused absence, but there won't be any additional consequences for leaving school.

About an hour and half after they had left class, protesters walked back to Kennedy High, 4545 Wenig Road NE. Students from the march squeezed into a group hug as Afnan thanked them for participating.

'Honestly, seeing you guys come out here today brought tears to my eyes,” she said.

The students from the trucks, too, returned to school. The student who took one of their flags returned it.

Another student from the march, 18-year-old Dajuan Rivers, shook many of the opposing students' hands.

'We can agree, we're all Americans,” he said, as a counterprotester cracked a smile. 'I love you, man.”