BRAINERD — Some Brainerd High School students walked out of school Friday, Jan. 30, in recognition of a national "ICE Out" strike and protest.
About 80 students walked three blocks to the Crow Wing County Judicial Center in downtown Brainerd to line both sides of Laurel Street. Many carried anti-ICE signs and chanted together.
Vincent Johnson Ding, 18, spoke through a megaphone to his classmates.
"So listen as I say, you are not alone. As long as that sun rises tomorrow, there is hope," he said. "We keep pushing forward, we keep coming together as one body. Because we are the future and we own the finish line!"
He said he organized the rally to last an hour so those who wanted to take part but didn’t want to miss a whole school day, could do so.
"This is a way for us to vent our frustration and to get our point across," he said.
It was another subzero day in which people gathered in protest in the city, at least the third time in a week.
Treasure "Tre" Cook, 15, wasn’t quite dressed for the weather, but she says her passion kept her warm. Treasure, who is Black, said she has experienced racism in the four years she’s lived in Brainerd.
"And I have friends of many different ethnicities, races, nationalities, and every time I see with someone dealing with racism or this type of hatred, it makes me sad, it makes me anxious," she said. "I have little siblings who are Native, I have little cousins who are Native, and to know that my friends, my neighbors, my colleagues are getting taken like this, no warning — getting murdered like this — it's sad."
After an hour of cheers in reaction to supportive honks and various group chants, the protest ended. One student passed along a box of donuts they brought to share as the kids walked back to school.
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