Across the U.S., Virtual Student Protests Erupt in Classrooms
Raise Your Hand, a student-led movement calling for the decolonization of America's school systems, has taken its fight to online classrooms and the first-ever virtual protest in Denver
Oct 27, 2020, 17:32 ET
NEW YORK, Oct. 27, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Over the past week students and allies of the Raise Your Hand movement for educational justice have staged virtual protests in online classes across the country to raise awareness of the gross inequities in America's school systems that disproportionately impact low-income and BIPOC communities. Youth and adults alike have replaced their profile photos and virtual backgrounds with demands for drastic education reform. These online protests hope to drive public accountability for educational justice during a crowded election newscycle.
"Inequities and opportunity gaps have long been accepted as the norms in our schools and the COVID-19 pandemic have made them worse," said Mohan Sivaloganathan, CEO of the education non-profit Our Turn, whose students are leading the movement. "This situation stands in opposition to the country's ideals around education, so students are seizing this moment to place us on the right track."
These protests for educational justice come during a third wave of COVID-19 cases that are closing hundreds of schools that had attempted in-person classes. Many students across the country already suffer from a lack of proper technology and internet access to adapt to online learning, exposing the lack of an equitable infrastructure across various school districts and communities.
The online protests will culminate in the first-ever series of "Virtual Protests" starting in Denver from October 27 through October 29. For three days the Raise Your Hand Truck will be live broadcasting students across the country as they lay out a grassroots platform for ensuring opportunity and justice in education. Ranging from the decolonization of school curriculums to equitable funding, the Raise Your Hand Student Demands are meant to set a vision and precedent for how to rebuild America's education system. Young leaders across the country will be trained and mobilized to ensure the student demands are adopted in every state.
The first step, student activist Jocelyne Asturias of Los Angeles says, is to elevate the voices of students, especially BIPOC students who are too often left out of decisions that greatly impact their school experience.
"We've been long overdue for an education that is inclusive of students from all respective backgrounds. It's time our voices are heard."
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SOURCE Our Turn
