At Hillcrest High School in Tuscaloosa on Wednesday, more than 200 pupils left the classroom. Students’ claims that school administrators instructed them to delete particular events from a student-led Black History Month production slated for February 22 sparked the protest.
Students said that they were instructed to omit important historical events like slavery and the civil rights struggle.
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Black History Month Program board member J’Niyah Suttles said, “We were told we couldn’t talk about slavery and civil rights because one of our administrators felt uncomfortable.”
Senior at Hillcrest High School Suttles took part in the walkout. She said that the instruction from a school official had injured her.
“My protector from 8 a.m. to 3:15 p.m., for you to tell me I can’t talk about something that is dealing with my culture is very disturbing, it’s very confusing,” Suttles shared.
Jada Holt, a senior at Hillcrest, shared the same sentiments about the movement.
Why am I being prohibited from speaking about my culture, which is ingrained in me? Why am I unable to discuss it? History cannot be changed since it has already been made.
The walkout was coordinated by senior Jamiyah Brown. She is the program’s choreographer for Black History Month. About an hour passed during the demonstration.
Brown asked, “Without our history, we are nothing, without teaching our youth where we come from, how can we move forward?”
Dr. Keri Johnson, the county superintendent for Tuscaloosa, issued a statement on the strike.
The Tuscaloosa County School System backs the right of our students to hold peaceful protests. Many of the kids at Hillcrest High are worried about the culture there. We genuinely care about our pupils, thus it’s crucial that their issues are taken into consideration. In order to identify the best course of action to guarantee that all students are aware of their importance, we are developing a strategy to ensure that they feel heard.
The purported instruction, according to Lisa Young, president of the NAACP branch in Tuscaloosa, is disgraceful.
“I don’t know how you can talk about black history in this country without talking about slavery or the civil rights movement,” noted Young.
For close to 30 students and their parents, she and other community leaders conducted a discussion over the weekend. She said that after requesting a meeting with the head of Tuscaloosa County Schools, no time has been set for their appointment.
“Angry, I’m angry and part of me feels like we failed our students. We want to see what we can do to assist them and make their school a safe place,” Added Young.
