Editor’s note: The names of sources used in this article have been removed for safety reasons and full anonymity has been granted, per The Appalachian’s interim policy.
Thursday evening, about 100 students, community members and other activists gathered on the Jones House Cultural Center lawn to protest Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Ranging from kindergarten to retirement age, and from local to 540 miles away, protesters demonstrated a variety of support for a common cause.
“I’ll stay as long as there are people demonstrating,” said a 70-year-old protester, who drove to Boone from Indiana.
The protest began on the lawn, with participants circling a series of speakers. In between speakers, they chanted phrases, including “We want justice. We want rights. We want ICE out of sight,” “Say it loud. Say it clear. Immigrants are welcome here” and “From Palestine to Mexico, all the walls have got to go.”
One protester backed each chant on a snare drum.
Meanwhile, an App State senior communications major and his roommate held the Palestinian Flag.
“I think the plights of all oppressed people are way more similar than any of us can even imagine,” the senior said.
Another protester held an American flag on a flagpole.
“To me, it represents every race, every group — native, immigrant, everyone here,” the American flag holder said.
The protester from Indiana said the country has not learned from its history.
“We didn’t learn with the Native Americans. We haven’t learned it with any group. This has just been dehumanizing, and it doesn’t just dehumanize the tactics they use and splitting families up, but it’s those that see it happen,” the protester said.
Others held signs with messages including “Ningún ser humano es ilegal,” which translates to “No human is illegal,” and “MELT.”
Representatives from community groups, including the Immigrant Justice Coalition, Revolutionary Communists of America and App State’s Young Democratic Socialists of America, attended the demonstration.
“I came here in support and solidarity of my neighbors, of working-class people, who are spontaneously organizing to defend their neighbors,” said an App State student and member of the RCA.
Others attended the event to support friends, and multiple protesters mentioned their privilege in being able to safely participate in the demonstration.
“Being white, I have a privilege to speak up for those who safely cannot,” said a freshman advertising major, who had been walking to class with a friend for the friend’s safety.
Around 5:50 p.m., the crowd turned around, and many protesters walked down the steps, assembling a mass facing the street. They began to chant once more.
“No ICE. No KKK. No fascist USA.”
A mother and two elementary-age children, supporters of the IJC, decided to attend the event after one child was “sad and worried” for a friend who had not been at school this week.
“It’s part of my duty to my profession to fight for social justice,” said the child’s mom, a licensed clinical social worker. “It’s affecting our lives because we care so deeply for friends who are here.”
The protest continued for over an hour after facing the street. Some protesters continued chanting, the snare drum sounded at times, as well as party horns and even a brief singing of the national anthem.
