MINNEAPOLIS — After weeks of watching testimony and processing other traumatic events in the greater Minnesota community, thousands of high school students from around the state rallied for racial justice Monday.
The student walkout played out throughout the state. But hundreds of students also gathered just blocks from where attorneys were giving the closing arguments in the trial of Derek Chauvin, the officer accused of murdering George Floyd in Minneapolis last May.
And the students themselves said the demonstration was a needed opportunity to share their voices at this critical time in the greater community.
“I wouldn’t be able to live with myself if I didn’t,” said Khadijah Ba of North High School, before addressing the diverse representation in the crowd: “I appreciate everyone out here, whether you’re white, Asian, Mexican, Latina, I don’t care. I’m not here to see that color. I’m not here to see what your race is. When I come here, I see students. I see people who all came together. And they see a problem, and we’re all trying to fix it.”
Her friend and North High School classmate, Taylor Butler, agreed.
“I came here to get justice for people who didn’t get justice,” she said before naming several people – including Daunte Wright and George Floyd – who died during police encounters.
For more information and pictures from other students who participated in the walkout, just go to the Minnesota Teen Activists Instagram page, here.