Brandishing political signs, chanting slogans, and demanding change, roughly 400 Santa Monica High School (Samohi) students walked out of class and marched on City Hall earlier this afternoon to demand the city protect its most vulnerable residents during the second administration of Donald Trump. One student activist shared a copy of the letter they distributed to City Hall. It can be read, here.
Speakers chose not to identify themselves by name, but the message was clear: the current federal administration has managed to dismantle both portions of the federal government that provide oversight to powerful government officials and protection to disadvantaged communities and the environment in just over two weeks. If the federal government is a threat, then the local government must become a protector.
“We don’t want to live in a world where where we are scared. We don’t want to be scared to be deported. We don’t want to be killed in our school. Together, we will fight back,” said one speaker.
“We are here because we believe in the power of collective action…we protest for a future that is not built on lies and division,” another finished.
Their message reached sympathetic ears. Santa Monica Mayor Lana Negrete, clad in her own Samohi Vikings sweatshirt, mingled in the crowd before being offered the microphone and addressing the audience. While she didn’t make a firm commitment to any policy changes, she did promise to meet with any students to hear their concerns, work with the young leaders on resolutions, and announced the creation of a “students’ city council” and urged the students to look for applications coming soon.
Below are some pictures from the rally at City Hall.
