At Berkeley High walkout, students protesting Trump’s victory plead to ‘stop fascism before it takes root’

Students work to paint a mural designed by a Berkeley High senior named Maria with help from local activist-artist David Solnit. Designed in less than two days, the upper half of the mural depicts what Maria stands for — a tree, trans symbol, fist and the phrase “all power to the people” — while the lower half shows several smokestacks and reads “we will not live by Trump’s policies.” Credit: Ximena Natera, Berkeleyside/CatchLight

During a lunchtime walkout Friday, about 100 Berkeley High students gathered at Civic Center Park to protest the dangers posed by Donald Trump’s victory in Tuesday’s presidential election. 

At the walkout, students took turns giving speeches, promising to push back against Trump — who they described as racist, ableist and dangerous to marginalized communities — and his disrespect for the rule of law, shown by his refusal to peacefully relinquish power after losing the 2020 election. 

“We will not lie on our backs and take what he’s planned for our country — we will stand up and fight because this is our country,” Aniyah, a Berkeley High senior, told the crowd. “We are the ones who will be affected by these horrible policies, not Trump. This is our future and we choose to progress, not to go backwards.”

Some students gathered at the southwest corner of the park to listen and cheer on their peers’ speeches, ringing cowbells and occasionally chanting, “No justice, no peace.” A Palestinian flag was waved and some held posters that read “Stop fascism before it takes root.” 

Meanwhile, members of the Sunrise Movement’s Berkeley High chapter and Jackets for Palestine, the student groups that led the protest, passed around clipboards signing up students to get involved in their campaigns.

Two sophomores do work on the mural during Friday’s protest. Credit: Ximena Natera, Berkeleyside/CatchLight Local

Aniyah told Berkeleyside she decided to write a speech because she felt that it was important for young people to organize in the face of a “major setback.” She said she was shocked and distraught when she learned that an openly racist man had been reelected to office, and is particularly worried his administration and its allies in Congress will impose further restrictions on abortion, separate immigrants from their families, ban ethnic and gender studies and raise taxes for middle- and lower-class citizens.

Emma, a Berkeley High senior, said the protest was just the beginning and that more walkouts are yet to come. In 2016, around 1,500 Berkeley High students marched through downtown and to UC Berkeley the day after Trump was elected. 

“We all have this deep rage, deep sadness around Trump’s election, and we wanted to do something — to use that grief to build an intersectional alliance between different sorts of activists,” she said. 

Students listen to a speech at the protest. Credit: Ximena Natera, Berkeleyside/CatchLight Local

Several students at the rally, including a freshman named Eddie, said they felt it was important for young people to speak out for freedom and civil and human rights amid Trump’s attacks on people who are queer, transgender, immigrant or part of other marginalized groups. 

“Due to the previous results of the election, we are fighting against fascism — literal fascism,” a Berkeley High student named Yohanna said during their speech. “So like a field of sunflowers that grow rapidly with soil water and light, when there is no light, no soil or water, let us turn to each other because like flowers in bloom, let us be a prosperous field of sunflowers.”

Others kneeled on a portion of Allston Way to paint a mural designed by Maria, a Berkeley High senior, with help from local activist-artist David Solnit. Designed in less than two days, the upper half of their mural depicts what they stand for — a tree, trans symbol, fist and the phrase “all power to the people” — while the lower half shows several smokestacks and reads “we will not live by Trump’s policies.” 

“We’re like the future, like people always say — we’re young and we’re going off to the world and we’re going to be able to vote soon,” the student said as they answered occasional questions from peers about paint colors. “Even if you don’t like political stuff, it’s going to impact you.”

The only counterprotester who showed up circled around the students on his bike and blasted loud Trump-supporting music from a speaker. After talking with police, and getting little reaction from the students, the man eventually left. 

Credit: Ximena Natera, Berkeleyside/CatchLight Local

Most of the students arrived shortly after being released for lunch and huddled in the southwest corner of the park. The crowd began to disperse around 1 p.m., though some stayed behind, skipping class to continue working on the mural.