One student spoke out against what they see as bias in our school and local community, “All of the injustice that I’ve seen over the entirety of my life, from my family even, it’s frankly disgusting and I want to do whatever I can to help the people around me.” Another student expressed their perspective, “Saying that a person’s life matters shouldn’t be a political statement, it’s ridiculous that it has to be a hashtag.” Some speakers were more vulgar in their speech, one student saying “I’m tired of this police system that kills people. All cops are b******* and f*** the police.”

One of the primary speakers was BHS sophomore El-Sara Duopu. When asked how it felt to see her peers there in support of the movement, Duopu said, “It was really moving because even though not even half the school was there, at least some people had the courage to decide to go.” As for those who didn’t choose to attend the walkout, Duopu said “It depends on your reason but if you didn’t go just because your friends didn’t go or just because you’re close-minded, you should re-evaluate your values and what you actually think being a good citizen of the United States. A lot of people who didn’t go see themselves as patriots, but fighting for your fellow citizens rights shouldn’t be something that is made fun of or ignored.” 

Although Duopu found the support of the movement in our community inspiring, she believes we still have a long way to go. Duopu encouraged her fellow students to stand up against bias. “Basically just not having any tolerance for it.” Duopu said “The more lenient you are with people the more they think it’s okay. If someone is ashamed of behaving that way, they’re not gonna do it. When you cast it aside – that goes for staff and students too – being silent is the equivalent of partaking in whatever someone’s doing that is negative.”

Some students within the school hold contrasting opinions but respect the cause of the protest. Sophomore Malaki Cabanting made a widely viewed snapchat post with a photograph of the walkout entitled “What bull s***” When later asked to elaborate on his feelings towards the protest he stated “I am not saying it was pointless, but I feel like it [police brutality] doesn’t really affect us in Buffalo, so I don’t think it [the walkout] was necessary here”. Elaborating on his controversial post, Cabanting said “I wanted to state my opinion. I thought that people would agree with me, and sometimes people are too afraid to say stuff that they believe in.”

There has been further talk of other potential walkouts for various causes but plans have not been finalized.

Facilitators from youth activism organization Minnesota Teen Activists met participants near the student parking lot and encouraged some to go in front of the group to share anecdotes of experiences of racism and prejudice in the school and in the wider community. The crowd cheered and applauded with each new speaker.

Many of the speakers touched on the subjects of violent police confrontations, but also spoke about of bullying, homophobia, and general discrimination toward minority groups. Several of the speeches were punctuated with explicit language. As they spoke, some community members looked on from outside of the group. Teachers and staff members did not participate in the walkout, though some school personnel and the school resource officer were on-site for supervision and safety reasons.

A small contingency of counter-demonstrators briefly drove back-and-forth around The Rock, some with messages like “Back the Blue” painted on their vehicles while playing music loudly. Shortly after they began, the counter-demonstrators seemed to disappear, either heading back to the school or leaving the grounds entirely.

The walkout ended in a moment of silence at 1:47, a symbolic time commemorating the death of 20-year-old Daunte Wright, who was shot and killed by a police officer during a traffic stop, days before in Brooklyn Center. Afterward, students returned to their fourth block classes. Teachers were told that students were accountable for any missed work and class time.

According to Junior Class Cabinet member Grace Bruhn, Grand March and Prom will be held entirely at the BHS campus instead of an outside venue. The prom will be indoor-outdoor, and will be invite-only. Invites are planned to be through Instagram’s Direct Messaging system where the inviters will send a direct message to the lucky invitees.

• Seniors only
• No juniors, even invited by seniors
• No outside guests from other schools
• No DJs or venue
• Indoor outdoor in parking lot, gym, and football field

“If I’m comparing it to planning past years, we haven’t even started,” Bruhn said, “but, if you compare us to other schools, we’re much further into planning.”