Black History Month in Seattle will again begin with a Black Lives Matter at School Week of Action including a protest of the School Board calling for the system to defend its ethnic studies programs and continue work to rely on “counselors not cops” to foster student safety.
Organized by educator and activist Jesse Hagopian, the weeks of action have become an annual part of Black History Month in Seattle and beyond. The 2023 events include the planned protest and more:
From February 6-10, Seattle educators, students and parents will be holding a week-long series of actions, protests, and cultural events to celebrate and fight for Black lives in education. Events include:
The debate over cops on Seattle school campuses continues after a student-led walkout in November following a deadly shooting on a North Seattle high school campus. SPD Chief Adrian Diaz has lobbied for more officers and a change in policies to allow SPD officers back on public school campuses.
The Seattle Public School system like many in the nation has focused on training around gun violence and “active shooter” situations for students and staff over infrastructure like metal detectors that has proven costly and ineffective in the past. SPS says training topics include “first aid, verbal de-escalation and conflict management, critical incident management, child abuse and other safety courses.” The district’s Safety and Security Department also “monitors and responds to schools 24 hours a day, 7 days a week,” SPS says, while secondary schools like Ingraham are assigned school security specialist that “respond to critical incidents in schools, de-escalate and intervene in volatile situations, and investigate and file security incident reports.”
Following the Ingraham High shooting, Superintendent Brent Jones has announced the district will undertake a system-wide “safety and security” audit.
Meanwhile, the week of action is also calling on Seattle education officials to defend ethnic studies efforts in the district in the face of calls for statewide limitations on “critical race theory” education.
“One of the demands I feel passionate about is ethnic studies,” Kaley Duong, a high school student leader in the WA NAACP Youth Council said in an announcement of the week’s schedule. “Ethnic Studies is more than just a class; it is the lives, experiences, and empowerment of students of color. It is essential for this to be implemented in all classes and in all schools. During this week of action and beyond, we will fight for ethnic studies and amplify the voices of BIPOC youth.”
Learn more about the 2023 Black Lives Matter at School events here.
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marxists are destroying the SSD
I saw the concerned and engaged students from the NAACP Youth Council leading a community workshop/discussion on the morning of MLK day about these and other issues they and the community had with SSD from their own lived experiences in those schools as current and former students, parents, teachers, and community members. To me I saw a bunch of educated and committed young adults and future leaders that had both the facts to back up their messages, and the ability to talk about them candidly with their community even when they are questioned/challenged by those with different opinions. I think the kids are doing alright, and I support their work!