Sartell students participate in walk out to protest racial injustice

On Monday, April 19th, Sartell students participated in a statewide walkout at Sartell High School to protest racial injustices.

Minnesota Teen Activists, a nonprofit organizational group focusing on the advocacy of racial justice, took to social media to spread the news of an upcoming walkout for the state of Minnesota.

Over the weekend prior to Monday’s event, students from the S.A.F.E (Student Advocates for Equity) club at Sartell made the decision to join the other Minnesota Schools in participating in the walkout.

With merely a few days to organize the 47 minutes that they had planned to be outside, a sophomore at Sartell High School and one of the founders of S.A.F.E. – Sartell, took the reins for organizing and making sure this event happened.

At 1:55 P.M., around 100 Sartell students began streaming out of their classes to stand in solidarity with the racial justice movement. S.A.F.E members handed out signs and stickers with slogans in support of the movement.

Gathering in the commons of the high school, they prepared to file out of the building together where they were met with light snow and 30-degree weather.

Once outside, the same sophomore mentioned above delivered a powerful speech informing others on the importance of coming together to combat racism of all kinds, specifically police brutality. She mentioned the names of many victims including Daunte Wright, George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Adam Toledo, and Trayvon Martin.

Several students spoke.  One sophomore and three juniors from the high school planned speeches to share.  Additional students were invited to an “open-mic” time period of the 47-minute long walkout.

At the end of the speeches, one of the organizers then led several chants including “Say their names!” and “No justice, no peace!”

The event concluded with 23 seconds of silence to honor victims of police brutality.