WASHINGTON — This week, students at more than 100 regional schools are taking part in a first-of-its-kind national effort: the “Black Lives Matter Week of Action in Schools.”
The point is to examine and discuss the issues raised by the Black Lives Matter movement.
Schools in D.C. and Alexandria, Virginia — as well as Prince George’s and Montgomery counties — have joined in, as have some area universities.
In Prince George’s County, school board member Raaheela Ahmed proposed a resolution supporting the effort after learning about it from a teacher’s union representative and doing some research of her own.
“I said, ‘Wow, this is a really amazing thing, and I think it would be a valuable addition to our school community.’ So I proposed it to board leadership, and I sent a draft resolution to my colleagues the next day,” Ahmed said.
The resolution was passed by the board last week.
“We live in a majority minority district, where our kids are seeing prejudice and facing microaggressions and profiling in their day-to-day lives. This week of action is really to open up the conversation around that, acknowledge it, and allow students and staff the opportunity to discuss it openly,” Ahmed said.
It’s been left up to teachers and administrators in all participating schools to decide exactly how to tackle these topics. Organizers have suggested that teachers highlight Black Lives Matter’s 13 guiding principles, focusing on a few of them each day.
In Prince George’s County Public Schools, students and teachers were urged to wear all black on Monday. A student poetry slam is set for Friday.
