The latest show of support for Muslims, amid a regional and national surge in Islamophobia, happened this morning at Chief Sealth International High School, right before classes started for the day.
The rally was organized by Sealth’s Black Student Union, as announced in the school’s Daily Bulletin. A crowd we counted at more than 70 students and teachers gathered on the steps along the east side of the school auditorium to display signs and chant.
Leading the chants was student Abshira Sala, who summarized the rally’s message afterward:
Part of the rallying cry was “Justice for Hamza” – referring to citywide concerns related to the recent death of 16-year-old Somali-American Hamza Warsame on Capitol Hill. Meantime, a hate-crime investigation is under way in the case of a ride-share driver who reported being harassed and assaulted by a passenger picked up last week in what was described as “southwest Seattle.”
In addition to today’s rally, recent shows of support for local Muslims included a resolution passed by the City Council yesterday, and a regional gathering of faith leaders at a north-end mosque last Friday, with West Seattle’s Rabbi Zari Weiss of Kol HaNeshamah among them.
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