“Today we have learned the power of community.”
These were the words of Nolawi Gibe amidst a walkout staged by several Blaine High School Students on the afternoon of Tuesday, Jan. 13.
The walkout was in opposition to recent immigration enforcement activity around the county and state, as well as the shooting death of Renee Good at the hands of an ICE officer. Jonathan Ross is the officer accused of the shooting.
Gibe, in a video posted to social media, said that the students were gathered to protest against what they called an abuse of power by the US Federal Government.
“The attack against immigrants in this country has been totally unfair and unjust,” Gibe said. “We need to fight back against it, and we have the power to do so.”
Gibe declared that “today is just the beginning,” leading to a further loud cheer from the students gathered at the entrance to Blaine High. Cars that had parked up at the front of the school proceeded to honk, and the video also showed signs reading “ICE Out” and other sayings.
“It is an acknowledged fact that the government is launching an attack on our liberties, and our constitutional rights,” Gibe said. “So we will exercise them. At the end of the day, we know that we have the right to protest, and we will use that.”
In another video posted from the walkout, student Kenya Cooper said that the enforcement was a danger to schools.
“You see it in Rosemount, we saw it in Minneapolis, we saw it in Andover,” Cooper said. “We saw it right here in Blaine.”
After the crowd erupted further, Cooper said that the students were there to stand against ICE, and would “not tolerate the abuse of immigrants any longer.”
In a message to ABC Newspapers, Noor Wadi, one of the organizers of the event, said that it occurred at 9:55 a.m. on that Tuesday. She went on to say that the students walked out upon deciding that “neutrality was no longer an option.”
“We understood that immigration enforcement as it exists today is not abstract or distant-it is a system that criminalizes migration, tears families apart and disproportionately targets black, brown and Hispanic communities,” Wadi wrote. “Organizing the walkout felt like reclaiming our agency as students and as political actors, refusing to let our education exist in isolation from injustice.”
According to administration at Anoka-Hennepin Schools, six schools saw student-led walkouts last week.
Those schools include Coon Rapids Middle School, Northdale Middle School, Champlin Park High School, Blaine High School, Jackson Middle School and Coon Rapids High School, spokesperson Jim Skelly said.
Skelly said Jackson Middle School, located in Champlin, experienced a walkout of about 150 students in its estimated 2,000-person student body.
In a letter to families, Jackson Principal Joel Young said the majority of the 150 students “safely stayed outdoors, on campus.”
“It is the goal to keep the focus on learning when students are at school,” Young said. “Families may choose to take this opportunity to discuss current events and understand the potential consequences of participating in future student walkouts and exercising freedom of speech. While the school district does not promote or authorize student walkouts or protests, students do have a protected right to freedom of speech that does not disrupt the educational process. Disruptive or inappropriate behavior can result in disciplinary action consistent with School Board policy.”
Community Editor Lila Swedzinski and Press and News Managing Editor Alicia Miller contributed to this report.