Students across Georgia are planning actions to demand what they say are stronger gun safety measures in response to this month’s fatal mass shooting at Apalachee High School in Winder.
The Morgan Oliver School, an independent school for students in kindergarten through eighth grade in East Atlanta, is planning a walkout Thursday morning to coincide with a state Senate committee meeting on safe firearm storage. The school has about 50 students, according to federal data.
“The students of the Morgan Oliver School have reached a breaking point,” said Sanidia Oliver-Stone, founder and Head of School. “Part of their civic engagement lessons is about organizing protests, and this is where they decided to put all their energy. It’s just so obvious to them that putting kids before guns is the right thing to do. They often hear grown-ups using the word, ‘Unacceptable,’ and now they believe that the way the grown-ups are acting is unacceptable.”
On Friday, a walkout is being planned by the Georgia Youth Justice Coalition and March For Our Lives, an organization founded in the wake of the 2018 shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, that killed 17 people. A walkout occurred in Georgia after that mass shooting.
Students joining Friday’s walkout or supporting it are asked to wear black. Suggested slogans for Friday’s walkout include “Prayers aren’t enough,” “Our Blood is On Your Hands,” “Protect Kids Not Guns” and “Justice for Winder.” Two Apalachee High School students and two teachers were killed in the shooting. A 14-year-old student and his father have been charged in the case. In the criminal cases, prosecutors filed a notice Wednesday requesting that both defendants or their attorneys have no contact with an alleged victim of the school shooting at Apalachee.
“Every student & teacher at Apalachee High School should be alive today,” says one social media post promoting the walkout.
Some schools are preparing for the walkout by encouraging students not to leave their classes, describing the protest as a disruption. Decatur High School sent a message Wednesday urging students not to walk out of class, but to instead organize a vigil, contact elected officials, engage in community service or create an awareness campaign about gun violence and preventive measures. Students who participate in the walkout may receive punishment that includes a suspension, the message said.
Staff writer Jozsef Papp contributed to this report.
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