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Kara Howard, 26, an English language teacher at the Cesar Chavez Public School Charter, was forced to join the protest because of her students' expulsion experiences.
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Kara Howard, 26, an English teacher at the Cesar Chavez Public School Charter, was forced to join the protest because of the expulsion experiences of her students.
Eman Mohammed for NPR
Demonstrators began to gather at Lafayette Square on Saturday morning for Washington DC's "Families Belong Together" rally.
The expected heat waves did not deter participants from the protest; they came prepared. Many of them conscientiously followed the call to action to wear white – a symbol of "unity and peace" according to the organizers of the event – and they brought fans, umbrellas and coolers of relief. The homemade signs were raised as shields against the beating sun and the young children were bathed in sunscreen and wore hats.
The protesters braved the heat to protest the Trump Administration's immigration policy.
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Protesters braved the heat to protest against the immigration policies of Trump administration
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Of the thousands of protesters who showed up – joining national gatherings across the country – it was mothers and families who came forward with their young children, hoisted on their shoulders and pushed, who have sent a powerful message. The weeks of media coverage that highlighted the effects of the Trump administration's "zero tolerance policy," which separated immigrants from their children after crossing the border, had been very personal
Anna McCall saw the protest as an opportunity to & # 39; teach his daughters Amina, Makeda, and Adama Kamara about the & # 39; civic engagement.
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Anna McCall sees the protest as an opportunity to teach her daughters Amina, Makeda, Adama and Kamara about civic engagement.
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Anna McCall, MD of Upper Marlboro, Md., S is introduced with her four daughters, ages 2 to 12 years old. As an immigrant girl from Sierra Leone, passionately concerned about mass incarceration, discussing the treatment of detained immigrants has been a critical issue in her family.
"I give them snippets as I go, age-appropriate," said McCall, holding a rainbow umbrella, shading his younger daughters. "I want to teach them that you're not just watching TV, we're here in the nation's capital, I'm from Oakland, CA. If we were there, we would do the same thing. then I try to raise them in the same way. "
The protesters from" The Families Belong Together "chanted in unison as they walked toward the Capitol.
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The protesters from "Families Belong Together" chanted in unison as they walked toward the Capitol.
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Members of the Omi collective photograph themselves holding placards and call their event a tribute to women and an act of "performance art".
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Members of the Omi Collective take pictures of each other holding placards and call their protest a tribute to women and an act of "performance art".
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Some women presented themselves with other women, bound by their common experiences of mothers and their horrified reactions to recent news
Migui Adams, a mother, came to the rally with two friends of mine. childhood of more than 30 years. . Adams wore an olive-green shirt that made fun of Melania Trump's controversial jacket during the first lady's visit to a detention center, a move that Adams called "a big slap in the face". Adams and his friends felt personally affected by the coverage of the detained children
"We were devastated, we cried for days, it was amazing how emotional we all became," Adams said. Attending the rally in D.C. was important to them – that was where they grew up. "We are also Hispanic Americans, we were born here, our parents came here," she said. "We love D.C. … it's our home."
Migui Adams, center, wears a shirt that refers to Melania Trump's controversial jacket.
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Migui Adams, center, wears a shirt that refers to Melania Trump's controversial jacket.
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A mother, Shelby Workman, arrived with her husband and two children, including her 5-year-old daughter, Blythe Marie. It was the very first protest of his young girl, and Workman wanted him to "speak loudly and have a voice." She described her conflicting feelings as a worried mother and a self-proclaimed "patriot."
"As I was getting ready for July 4 for my kids – we still buy red, white and blue, flags … I feel a little breathing," said Workman. "I'm not proud of our country right now, I'm not proud of what we do. I'm proud of this rally I'm proud of." Workman made sure to dress Blythe in red, white and blue , a demonstration of his family's love for America, despite the current events.
Sanam Emami, right, along with other members of the Omi Collective, hails from Iran and says that the tension in the debate on immigration is rooted in a "detachment to the mother".
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Sanam Emami, right, along with other members of the Omi Collective, is from Iran and says that the tension in the immigration debate is rooted in a "detachment to the mother ".
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In addition to mothers, others found that the event was a way to celebrate the power and strength of women. A young man, a third-year law student at Georgetown University, wore a sign that said "Fight Like a Mother." The women of Omi Collective, a Washington DC-based artist group, wore flower crowns and white robes, and said the event was an opportunity to highlight femininity. We are facing right now our detachment to the mother … whether it is the feminine aspects of ourselves … whether it is the separation of children from their mother, "said Sanam Emami , a visualist.
Anti-abortion activists showed up at the "Families Belong Together" protest and denounced Planned Parenthood at Saturday's event.
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Anti-abortion activists showed up at the "Families Belong Together" protest and denounced Planned Parenthood during Saturday's event.
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A number of participants used the issue of family separation to protest the rights of Planned Parenthood and abortion. Some people responded by surrounding the anti-abortion-rights activists, and denounced their presence at the event. Cries between the two sides raised tension temporarily throughout the otherwise peaceful event.
Protesters hold placards at a rally to protest the Trump Administration's immigration policy in front of the White House on Saturday.
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Protesters waving placards at a rally to protest Saturday against the Trump Administration's immigration policy in front of the White House.
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As the crowd dispersed toward the Capitol, many demonstrators were quiet and sang in unison until some of them were unleashed as they passed by. Trump International Hotel barricaded Pennsylvania Avenue. Some booed and shouted "shame, shame, shame!" "
A protester listened to the event's speakers at the" Families Belong Together "rally that took place Saturday at Lafayette Square Park.
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A protester listened to event speakers at Saturday's "Families Belong Together" rally at Lafayette Square Park.
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Blocks, Kevin Sinatra, 26, and Aida Cardoza, 22, shared their reasons for getting up early and taking the hour-long train from Woodbridge, Va., To witness the march of the DC . They took their one – year – old son Matthews, who wore an American flag bandana around his forehead.
Cardoza, the immigrant daughter of El Salvador, said that many Americans do not understand the fear and terror of their country of origin. She still has family – her grandmother, cousins and aunts – who have been touched by local gangs. She said her aunt is regularly forced to pay a monthly fee to gangsters or to deal with violence, and her young cousin has joined one of the violent gangs. Three years ago, his uncle fled the country after being almost killed by four men who beat him after "watching someone in the wrong way," she said.
"Going on foot from El Salvador is a three-month trip that's dangerous," Cardoza said. "You would not presume that this risk if you did not know what you are running out of is an even greater danger to your family, that they come here, ask for and ask for asylum, be torn up and thrown into Cages, we do not even tell them where their kids are going, it's inhuman.
Kevin Sinatra and Aida Cardoza brought their 1-year-old son, Matthews, to the protest. "We want him to know that he was part of that movement."
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Kevin Sinatra and Aida Cardoza brought their son Matthews, one year old, to the protest. "We want him to know that he was part of that movement."
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This is a deeply personal problem for Cardoza. His voice stifled as tears began to fall on his cheeks.
"I feel as if it happened a year ago before I was a mom, it would have affected me differently but now being a mother, having 1" she says, with Matthews in arms, "I do not know what I would do if someone took it, put it in a cage and I do not know who's looking at it."
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