Tag Archives: Black Lives Matter at School Week of Action

News

The Fifth Annual Black Lives Matter at School Week Set to Start Monday

by Ari Robin McKenna

On Monday, Jan. 24, the NAACP Youth Council (NYC) released their plans for the Fifth Annual Black Lives Matter at School Week of Action, Jan. 31–Feb. 4. The event was attended by community members and local media and featured educators and students speaking about the week’s heightened importance in 2022, the continued relevance of the national movement’s demands, and a day-by-day schedule of the week’s activities.

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News

Fourth-Annual National BLM at School Week of Action Kicks Off With Calls for Local Accountability

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by Ari Robin McKenna

Trigger Warning: this article includes descriptions of incidents in which racist language is used.

In a student-lead briefing on Monday, Jan. 25 on Zoom, educators, parents, youth in the NAACP Youth Coalition, and members of the press convened to kick off the Black Lives Matter (BLM) at School Week of Action in Seattle. Now a national movement four years running, it all began here in the South End in 2016 when John Muir Elementary School (JMES) had to temporarily cancel plans for an assembly meant to bolster the morale of Black students. After word spread via Breitbart News Network that teachers at the district-sponsored event would be wearing Black Lives Matter t-shirts, organizers received hate mail and a bomb threat, causing them to temporarily cancel the assembly. Then, in an impressive display of Seattle solidarity with JMES, over 3,000 educators district-wide showed up to work donning “Black Lives Matter” shirts, and a movement was born.

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Voices

OPINION: What Black Lives Matter at School Is from the Perspective of a NAACP Youth Council Leader in Seattle

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by Erica Ijeoma

In the fall of 2016, back when I was 14 years old, John Muir Elementary staff planned to wear Black Lives Matter shirts, partner with Black Men Uniting to Change the Narrative, and together greet their students, the majority of whom are Black, to school in hopes of uplifting them.

That was the whole event – high fives and a warm welcome.

But soon the press caught wind of this event, then the opposition. Backlash quickly followed, including a bomb threat. Due to the credibility of this threat, the district cancelled the event as they were concerned for the safety of students and bomb-sniffing dogs were sent out through the school that fall morning. Continue reading OPINION: What Black Lives Matter at School Is from the Perspective of a NAACP Youth Council Leader in Seattle →

News

Black Lives Matter at School Grew from Local Event to National Movement

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Week-long event kicks off Feb. 4 to coincide with Black History Month

by Carolyn Bick

Just a few years ago, Black Lives Matter at School was a Seattle-area-only day of action. Now, it has become a national, week-long movement, with almost 30 cities and hundreds of schools participating.

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Community

Seattle Educators, Students Primed for ‘Black Lives Matter at School’ Week

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by Sarah Corn

Seattle based activists, teachers, and volunteers announced Monday afternoon a new five-day, nationally coordinated action to teach K-12 grade students about institutional racism, black history, and black identity. Continue reading Seattle Educators, Students Primed for ‘Black Lives Matter at School’ Week →

Community

John Muir Elementary Canceled a Celebration of Black Men, But They Showed Up Anyway

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by Matt Halvorson

An extraordinary event called “Black Men Uniting to Change the Narrative” was scheduled for mid-September at South Seattle’s John Muir Elementary to publicly declare that Black Lives Matter, only to be “cancelled” after the school and the district received at least one threatening phone call. Continue reading John Muir Elementary Canceled a Celebration of Black Men, But They Showed Up Anyway →

News

Seattle Educators to Demonstrate BLM Solidarity in District-Wide Action

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by Kelsey Hamlin

Next Wednesday, Oct. 19, teachers, counselors, and other Seattle Public School District staff across the city plan on simultaneously wearing Black Lives Matter shirts to work, centering the day’s curriculum around race, civil rights history, and contextualizing current events. They will also hold a rally later that day. Continue reading Seattle Educators to Demonstrate BLM Solidarity in District-Wide Action →

Voices

Black Community Leaders Show Support for Seattle Students — No Matter What

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by Reagan Jackson

(This article was originally published on The Seattle Globalist and has been reprinted with permission)

For a second year in a row, dozens of mostly black-identified people of color gathered at Leschi Elementary School Friday morning to high-five students and teachers and send them best wishes on their school year. South Shore Elementary School followed suit last school year. Continue reading Black Community Leaders Show Support for Seattle Students — No Matter What →