GREENFIELD — Fueled by Munchkins and outrage, Mohawk Trail Regional School and Greenfield High School students marched from Energy Park to the Greenfield Common on Friday afternoon to speak out against the actions of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), with more student rally participation on the horizon.
The students plan to hold more standouts and participate in the upcoming No Kings Day rally on Saturday, March 28, as part of their efforts to encourage young people to speak up for what they believe in.
“This is just a peaceful protest to stand together as young people to prove to the community, and prove to the country and to the state, that we won’t be silent and that we are the next generation to lead,” Greenfield High School senior Nate Woodard said.
“Both of us have had our own walkouts at our schools, so we thought it would be great to come together to make a bigger statement,” Mohawk Trail junior Katie Osterman said. “We’re here to protest ICE violence, particularly in the past few months, but in general just all the inhumane and unjust things that are happening in our country right now.”
Students referred to reports of ICE agents aggressively pulling people from their vehicles as well as conducting masked, militaristic raids, and detainees dying in custody.
“We think that what the current administration and our federal government is doing is wrong and we just want to stand up against it,” Woodard said.
With signs that read “human rights belong to everyone” and chants saying “no hate, no fear, ICE has no business here,” and a box of doughnut holes to keep them fueled, students advocated for changes in the federal government and how ICE operates.
“Immigrants should feel safe in our city,” Woodard said.
“The best-case scenario is just that ICE goes away forever,” Mohawk Trail student Lexi Gilbert said.
While their Friday march was dedicated to speaking out against ICE, the students said they will also be speaking out more generally about the actions of the federal government and the Trump administration. They are encouraging people of all ages, not just students, to attend the third No Kings Day rally, scheduled from noon to 2 p.m. on Saturday.
The event in Greenfield will begin at Beacon Field and will include a march to the Greenfield Common, where there will be speakers, performances and a rally at 1 p.m.
Ferd Wulkan, an organizer with Franklin County Continuing the Revolution (FCCPR), said the day will center around serious topics, but will be jovial and inspiring.
“It is going to be both serious and joyous,” Wulkan said. “It’s gonna be very much a family-friendly event.”
Thousands of No Kings Day rallies have been scheduled around the globe. In Franklin County, five events are listed on nokingsday.org. From 10 to 11 a.m., there will be a rally in Shutesbury; from 10 to 11:15 a.m., there will be a protest in Shelburne Falls; from 11 a.m. to noon, there will be a standout in Orange; and from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m., a protest will be held in Ashfield.
At the Greenfield No Kings Day rally, participating speakers are Bill Newman, director of the Western Regional Law Office of the American Civil Liberties Union of Massachusetts; Ben Clark of Clarkdale Fruit Farms in Deerfield; the Rev. Kate Stevens, representing the faith community; Marina Goldman, Indivisible Montague and Montague Selectboard member; Woodard, who, in addition to being a Greenfield High School student, also serves on the city’s Human Rights Commission; and Alaina Shearer, a junior at Mohawk Trail Regional School. The event will be emceed by Gilbert and Wendell activist Court Dorsey.
Wulkan said that while No Kings Day is a national day of defiance, organizers wanted to make the event fun, spirited and open to all.
“There’s going to be a lot of music, there’s going to be puppets. There’s going to be speeches, because it’s a serious cause,” Wulkan said. “But we want to make this accessible for anybody, especially people who’ve never come to a demonstration; this is the time.”
Music will be provided by Ben Grosscup, the Ladies of Liberty, the West County Resistance Choir, the Song Squad, the Good Time Street Choir, the Montague Marching Band, Brattleboro’s People’s Resistance Band and the Prone to Mischief Brass Band.
Wulkan said it was great to see the Mohawk Trail and Greenfield students standing up for their beliefs on Friday.
“I want to support them,” Wulkan said. “They’ve been very involved in helping organize for No Kings Day.”
Woodard said the state of democracy has been on his and his classmates’ minds, and they want to speak up, as well as encourage more of their classmates to speak up about what they believe.
“We’re hoping to inspire young people. There are so many young people here from different grade brackets, from freshmen and eighth graders to seniors and juniors,” Woodard said. “We just want to show people what we want to see in the world.”