Our editors got inside Centennial High School and spoke with some of the teachers and students organizing the “die-in” protest. Here is what they had to say.
Lindsey Aikman teaches English and A.V.I.D. which stands for advancement via individual determination. She helped organize the protest because of recent events in Ferguson and New York City (NYC). She and the students planned a “die-in” in the hallway during a passing period. The idea comes from the peaceful protests of stopping traffic in NYC. “Our protest is peaceful and it’s meant to make students and faculty slow down and think about what is going on in our country” Akiman said. Students planned to hold signs and lay on the hallway floor during passing period.
Lindsey pictured below preparing the students for protest
Sonie is a senior at Centennial and the group leader of this protest. She and Aikman planned the event together. She says the reason she decided to plan the protest was because when she heard about what was going on in Ferguson and NYC she was shocked and had to ask herself “was this really happening?” She decided to take action because what is happening in our country is “personal and affects my community.” She said that “it doesn’t just affect black people. Everyone should care about this, no matter what affiliation they have with the victims.” She went on to say that “this feels like a civil rights movement of my era.”
Sonie pictured below rallying her fellow classmates
One of Sonie’s classmates holds up a home-made sign
When asked how she was able to rally her fellow students, she said “I just spoke what was on my mind and said ‘if we just let this go, it will send the message that we are ok with what happened, and we’re not.'”
A protest sign made by students
Aikman went on to say that for a lot of these kids these incidences in Ferguson and NYC hit home. She said that last year one of their friends was shot and killed while trying to get into his own home. “It happens right here in Champaign. And these kids remember” Aikman says.
Pictured below, students protesting in school hallway during passing period
UPDATE: 8:42 p.m.
Per WILL — video footage has been captured that shows a car driving through the group of protesting students today. Check it out below, as well as the description from the YouTube page.