wlrn | At Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School’s Black History Month Show, a
student walked out on stage to read a one-page statement defending the
Black Lives Matter movement.
This part of the show was not
rehearsed ahead of time, it was a last-minute decision by some of the
black student organizers to respond to a letter that ran in the school’s
paper.
The headline was “All Lives Matter.” In the letter, a
student wrote Black Lives Matter was “ridiculous” and “they seem to be
good for nothing but creating mistrust between civilians and police.”
The
black students planned on submitting their rebuttal to the school
paper, but they also saw an opportunity to read their response at the
Black History Month Show.
“The rebuttal was pretty much saying
that that the Black Lives Matter movement is a respected movement,” said
Mei-Ling Ho-Shing, a junior who helped plan the Feb. 9 show.
She said she wanted to address the very real threat of police violence against black bodies.
“Just because you don't have to experience it doesn't mean that it's absurd and ridiculous,” she said.
The
message wasn’t fully delivered at the assembly. A teacher had the
speakers’ microphone cut off and asked the student to leave the stage
before she could finish reading it.
Kyrah Simon, a junior, was watching from the audience.
“They just didn't handle it in the way that I thought would be compassionate to all the minorities,” she said of the school.
The
Black Lives Matter statement was an unapproved presentation that was
not rehearsed as part of the show, explained a Broward County Public
School spokesperson in an email to WLRN.
“Due to the potential
for disruption and breach in protocol, the student was asked to stop and
leave the stage.” The email goes on to state the school “is committed
to providing learning environments that foster inclusion and respect.”
