Students walk out to protest racist events at the high school
Students walked out on March 16 at 11 a.m. to protest responses by school administration towards recent racist events. Jaelyn Onuoha addressed the crowd of students, teachers and staff.
February 20, 2023
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The Sagamore, Brookline High School, Brookline, MA
In reaction to the recent racist incidents at the high school, students organized a walkout protesting the administration’s response. The demonstration followed the circulation of a recent controversial TikTok video and took place on March 16 at 11 a.m. during D-block.
The TikTok video rapidly spread among the student body on March 15. Within the next twenty four hours, a group of students organized a school-wide walkout. On March 16 at 11 a.m., several hundreds of students gathered with teachers and staff outside the STEM wing. Student organizers spoke to the crowd demanding apologies from administrators and speaking about their experience with racism at the high school.
Freshman Jaelyn Onuoha, who shares an honors English class with the person who created the TikTok video, spoke about her experience being pulled out of her English class to speak with administrators.
“Yesterday [March 15], I was taken out of C and D-block. The day before, on Monday, when the event sparked, I was taken out of G-block,” Onuoha said. “They asked us about what consequences we felt would be equitable for the racist student in the video. We were told that that student was going through a lot and needed our support.”
