Students Show Support for the Black Lives Matter Movement

STUDENTS SHOW SUPPORT

for the Black Lives Matter Movement

“I like the feeling that we are helping something more than just ourselves. You’re helping the whole society, not just you or your classroom.”

—Fourth grader Evelyn Marks

On March 1, a group of fourth grade students placed Black Lives Matter signs on Shore’s campus to demonstrate their support for the movement protesting against incidents of police brutality and racially motivated violence against Black people. According to the fourth graders, they wanted “to support the movement, and to show parents, bus drivers, students, and campus visitors that we do.”

The students, teacher Liza Jones’s fourth grade homeroom, had petitioned the Head of School, Clair Ward, for permission to put the signs in prominent locations so they would be visible to the Shore community and any visitors to campus. In approving the students’ petition, Ward said, “At Shore, we honor student voices when it comes to many things… especially equity and inclusion. This proposal joins other successful student-led initiatives at the school, and I and Shore’s administration are proud to ofer our support. I am sure we are all pleased to see Shore’s Equity and Inclusion Commitment in action.”

Said Liza Jones, “In class we’ve talked about white supremacy, systemic racism, and the death of Trayvon Martin in 2012, which sparked the Black Lives Matter movement. These are all things my students have been thinking about.” Discussions about equity and social justice stemmed from the fourth graders’ studies during Black History Month. “We celebrated some current living inspirations and remembered several historic fgures,” said Jones. “That work led us to issues of inequity and to the question of how Black History Month and the Black Lives Matter movement surface stories that have often been overlooked or dismissed.”

Jaylin Frye said, “We wanted to support the protests and show people that we believe in Black Lives Matter.” Brennan Hinrichsen added, “We hoped to make more people aware, so they might research the movement and decide that they support it, too, and eventually more people will join them.”

The fourth graders were troubled by racial injustice, particularly in the United States. “Black lives haven’t been treated as well as people with other skin colors,” said Makaylie O’Neil. Henry Sahovey agreed, “Black and white people should have the same opportunities.”

The students felt proud to be taking part in a social justice movement. “I like the feeling that we are helping something more than just ourselves,” explained Evelyn Marks. “You’re helping the whole society, not just you or your classroom.”