The morning after Donald Trump was named president of the United States, students in Oakland, Berkeley, Contra Costa County and San Jose, California, walked out of class, along with their teachers, to figure out how to deal with his stunning win and a victory they did not want for their future.
Peaceful walkouts occurred at Berkeley High School — famous for its progressive-minded protests, Oakland Technical High School and the private Catholic school, Bishop O'Dowd, also in Oakland. Another walkout occurred before lunchtime at San Jose's Lincoln High School.
Students such as Berkeley High football player Armani Turner-Jenkins held up "F--- Trump" and Mexican flag signs on the steps of the main quad. Some students cried and spoke in Spanish. They chanted "Love trumps hate" and "Not our president" as half of the 3,000-student body marched on campus and speak their minds. At one point, two African-American students held the megaphone while another young woman in a hijab looked on, eyes downcast, waiting her turn to voice her opinions.
"They're angry," Berkeley High Principal Sam Pasarow told NBC Bay Area, who did not want students to be interviewed directly. "They're crying and they feel unsafe. There's a great amount of solidarity."
At Oakland Tech, students gathered on the front lawn during first period to listen to speeches, and at Bishop O'Dowd, students raised their fists to the sky under a large white cross on the top of a campus building.
Police on Wednesday afternoon also said students from sevearl high schools in west Contra Costa County were conducting walkouts over the election.
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But decrying the Trump presidency is not what Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton said in her concession speech in New York on Wednesday. She reminded the country that Americans cherish the peaceful transition of power and the freedom to express different opinions.
She said she called Trump to wish that he will be a successful president for all Americans. "We owe Trump an open mind and a chance to lead," she said.
And in a letter to the Oakland Unified School District community, Supt. Antwan Wilson reminded his students, staff and friends to be "caring, fully-informed critical thinkers."
"It's during times of stress and turmoil where we must resolve to be our best selves," Wilson said. "We must embrace the rules of our democracy and at the same time reflect upon what got us here. For my own children who were questioning how the presidential election could turn out as it did, my message to them is: 'It will be OK and we will learn from this.' ''
In his victory speech Tuesday night, Trump promised that he will and become a president for all Americans.
The high school walkouts follow on the heels of Tuesday night protests around the country, where mostly young millennials protested in the streets, burning Trump effigies and lighting fires in the streets. In the liberal Bay Area, that mayhem was concentrated in cities including Oakland, Berkeley, San Francisco and San Jose. Those protesters promised more rallies Wednesday evening.
