People of all ages gathered at the Peace and Justice Plaza in Chapel Hill Sunday afternoon with a unified mission – to make their Muslim neighbors feel welcome.

The rally was sparked by President Donald Trump’s recent executive action, which put a ban on people entering the U.S. if they are travelling from any of seven countries in the Middle East.

Photo via Jessica Coates.

Although the president’s action says nothing specific about banning Muslims, it targets countries that are primarily Muslim. It also says that its purpose is to ensure that those who come to the US “do not bear hostile attitudes toward it and its founding principles.”

“We’re here to stand for our Muslim family. Our brothers and sisters,” said Karen Porter, a member of activist group Indivisible Chapelboro.

She says that, for years, she’s been teaching the US Constitution to aspiring lawyers around the world.

“All the things I bragged about – separation of power, checks and balances – are…under serious threat.”

Throughout the hour-long rally, people who had gathered echoed her outrage. Carmen Huerta-Bapat and her husband, Navin Bapat, stood with their children as they talked about the ban.

“So, I am Mexican,” Huerta-Bapat said to the crowd, followed by Bapat, “And I am Muslim,” as the crowd cheered. “Every day I wake up, I watch the news and I see what’s next.”

Huerta-Bapat goes on to say how much it hurts to be “othered” by those in her community.

“I am here because my little girl told me, ‘Mama, it’s really nice when we see people that are on our side,’” Huerta-Bapat said. “If my eight-year-old can see it, what is wrong with the world people?”

Photo via Jessica Coates.

Bapat said he has spent years studying terrorism.

“And what I can tell you is that the likelihood of you being harmed in any way by terrorism is less than your chance of drowning in a bathtub. And…to stop this supposed threat…we’re terrorizing people of color all over the United States.”

Bapat went on to call the ban “racist, cruel” and “evil.”

The rally finished around 1 PM so that protesters could join an accompanying rally at Raleigh-Durham International Airport.

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