Jennifer McDonnell is a Fulton County parent. She wrote this column in response to Fulton County School System's letter to parents warning against student walkouts.
Students nationwide plan to walk out of school on March 14 to demand sensible gun laws in the aftermath of the Parkland, Fl., school shooting that killed 17 students.
The Fulton Schools letter stated:
“...our schools will only allow students to express themselves if the activity does not interrupt daily operations, classroom instruction or become disruptive...We hope you will help us guide students as they consider their involvement in student protests or walk-out activities. Any student who misses a class may face an unexcused absence. Also, if a student becomes disruptive, he or she faces the consequences of disruption of school as defined by District Policy and the Fulton County Schools Student Code of Conduct.”
The district's stance has led to nearly 200 comments on the Fulton Schools Facebook page, most critical. Several parents contrasted what they consider Fulton's hard line with the more supportive positions adopted by Marietta and DeKalb schools. (You can read about that here.)
By Jennifer McDonnell
Atlanta has a rich history of protest in the form of civil disobedience. Acting as a point of catalyst for the civil rights movement in the 1960’s, Atlanta became the epicenter of civic progress as community leaders and activists lit the spark for a movement that would come to change both culture and policy throughout the United States.
We celebrate these leaders and activists every February in the form of Black History Month. Students enjoy lessons devoted to the trailblazers of the civil rights movement. Children learn how Martin Luther King Jr. led a movement premised on methods of civil disobedience to ignite critical, longitudinal change throughout the nation. As citizens and students, we learn the import of peaceful protest and of standing up when injustice demands.
And, yet, I was disheartened to receive an email last week from Fulton County Schools encouraging our children to, instead, sit down. The email was in response to a student-led movement formed in response to the brutal school shooting in Parkland, Florida. Students across the nation have decided to express discontent with current gun policy in the form of civil disobedience.
Students plan to walk out of the classroom on March 14 — exactly one month following the Parkland massacre. Seventeen minutes will be devoted to the 17 victims of the shooting. In an effort to make their voices heard, students will walk out and stand in solidarity with Parkland.
Such youth-led initiatives are the life-blood of this country. Our very nation was formed through the efforts of our young forefathers to safeguard the right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. Alexander Hamilton was 19 years old in 1776. Aaron Burr was 20. James Monroe and Marquis de Lafayette were only 18.
Youth-led movements have shaped policy and culture throughout history, and young citizens continue to push for progress today. Survivors of the Parkland shooting are standing up to the gun lobby, and their efforts are already making waves.
Several companies, including Delta Air Lines, have severed ties with the NRA. We have collectively decided it is finally time to talk about gun violence, and social media has changed the ways we engage in national discourse. Today, we find ourselves debating on a platform ruled by Generation Z. They’re using their demesne to speak up and speak out.
Their goals are clear: repeal the 1996 Dickey amendment that forbids research into gun-related violence, establish stricter gun laws that make it at least as hard to buy a gun as it is to drive a car, and remove military-grade weapons from civilian society.
These young citizens have a clear and informed position. They also have the most at stake. It is up to us to listen.
Fulton County Schools, I come to you as a parent with children in your system to ask you to listen. Hear these children. Do not ask them to sit idly by as they witness members of their cohort die to gun violence. Encourage them to stand. Support their call to action as they try to emulate the very civil rights pioneers you exalt in the classroom.
Give these young citizens and activists the autonomy of thought and the capacity of action that we pride ourselves on as Americans. In the words of the late David Bowie: They’re quite aware of what they’re going through.
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