Nashville's Day Without Immigrants Closes Restaurants, Empties Classrooms

NASHVILLE, TN — Most days, the drop-off line at Charlotte Park Elementary School snakes around the building and out onto Scholarship Drive. Out front, a team of teachers and administrators dash efficiently to get the kids out of mom and dad's car and into the school.

On Thursday, the line was noticeably shorter. Around the country and in Middle Tennessee, February 16 was a Day Without Immigrants and at Charlotte Park, a school that boasts of its incredible ethnic diversity — students come from at least 29 foreign countries, the flag of each one hangs in the school's gym — a day without immigrants is a day with plenty of absences.

The protest is designed to show opposition to the presidency of Donald Trump, his recent and now-suspended executive order restricting immigration from seven Muslim-majority countries, his campaign rhetoric and pledges regarding immigration, as well as the recent uptick in raids from the Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency and it was marked in cities large and small across the country.

The scene at Charlotte Park Elementary was repeated through Metro Nashville Public Schools, particularly in East Nashville, South Nashville and Antioch, areas with heavy concentrations of immigrant families. Nashville has 15,000 students who are English language learners and 30 percent of the 86,000 students speak a language other than English at home. The Tennessean reported that at some schools in Madison, ELL classrooms were essentially empty Thursday.

MNPS was aware of the coming boycott and sent a letter to principals ahead of Thursday's events.

"We are aware that some of our immigrant students intend to miss school on Thursday to participate in nationwide protest efforts. As we have stated previously over the last several weeks, MNPS values our diverse student population and understands that our immigrant and refugee families are experiencing uncertainty and confusion in light of quickly changing federal policies and directives," Chief of Schools Sito Narcisse wrote. "While we respect the democratic right to participate in peaceful protest, our responsibility as a school district is to ensure students are in school receiving a great education every day. For that reason, all students and staff are expected to be in school throughout the day on Thursday so that teaching and learning can continue."

Students who missed school due to the protest will receive an unexcused absence.

Businesses, particularly restaurants and construction companies, also shut down for the day Thursday. At Cumberland Plaza, a modest strip center on Charlotte Pike, every business except for the copy shop was closed: the Honduran restaurant, the Colombian clothing store, the salon, the Vietnamese deli, the Persian buffet. In the shared parking lot, beloved neighborhood taco truck La Mulita Express No. 2 posted notice it too would stay shuttered.

Coincidentally (or not), the drive-thru lane at nearby Taco Bell at Charlotte and Annex was dozens of cars deep, with employees saying they'd been "slammed" for much of the day.

Epice, Burger Up and Baja Burrito were among the other restaurants who tweeted they'd be closed Thursday, as the Tennessee Immigrant and Refugee Rights Coalition kept a tally. K&S World Market, the successful international grocery store, closed its Nolensville Road location but kept the Charlotte location open.

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Image via J.R. Lind, Patch staff