On Wednesday afternoon, a Washington State educator and the recipient of the National Teacher of the Year award might have attempted to deliver a silent message of protest when she received the trophy from the U.S President Donald Trump. Yahoo and The Guardian have indicated that Mandy Manning teaches English to new refugee and immigrant students at the Newcomer Center at Joel E. Ferris High School in Spokane. She wore 6 left-leaning badges on her black dress at the ceremony. One with a poster for the Women’s March followed the inauguration of Trump. One said that Trans Equality Now. One in the shape of an apple with a rainbow, one for the National Endowment for the Arts, one for the National Education Association and sixth one for the Peace Corps.
It was reported on Fox News that Manning previously worked as a teacher in the Peace Corps in Armenia, and she also taught in Japan and in other parts of the United States. Trump didn’t mention the types of students Manning teaches during the ceremony at the White House in honoring her and other winners. Manning didn’t immediately respond the request of Fox News for comment. On Wednesday, Manning informed The Associated Press after the ceremony that she used a private moment with Trump to give him stacks of letters written by her students and members of the Spokane community. She added that she informed Trump she hoped he reads them, and she encouraged him to visit her school. Manning also said that the letters delivered important messages regarding what coming to the U.S. meant to the immigrants and refugees.