Why D.C. Teenagers Have Taken a Stand Against Police Brutality

By William Bates and Yared Lingo

          This past Wednesday, December 17, The School Without Walls High School of Washington, DC held a protest in front of the White House.  The school was protesting police brutality and unpunished violence against African-Americans. School Without Walls students were outraged by these crimes, particularly the recent deaths of Eric Garner, Michael Brown, and Tamir Rice.  The students marched from their school at 21st and G street NW, DC to the White House. At the foot of the White House, the students staged a “die-in”, wherein they laid together on the ground for over 30 minutes before marching their way back to their school in time for their midterm tests.

          The demonstration accomplished one thing without a doubt: proving that the youth of America care about this pressing issue. The protest was conceived by teenagers, organized by teenagers, and enacted by teenagers. The student organizers of the demonstration went above and beyond social media posts and hashtags to incite real action. The amount of time and effort put forth by the students, not only the organizers but also the participants, would be noteworthy even in adults. So this protest raises an important question: why is it that a demographic generally viewed as apathetic would take a stand, and in a huge way, on their own volition?

Students marching to the White House (The Nation).

School Without Walls Protest. Digital image. The Nation. N.p., n.d. Web. 22 Dec. 2014.

        Social media, most notably Twitter, has been monumental in influencing this phenomenon. There is a clear relation between the online movement and the physical actions, as suggested by the chants used by the students during their demonstration. In recent days, masses of Twitter members have used the platform to post their feelings about some of the recent police brutality-caused deaths, including those of Michael Brown, Eric Garner, and Tamir Rice. Common Twitter hashtags #icantbreathe and #blacklivesmatter were then transformed into call-and-response protest chants by the School Without Walls student body. The students’ yells of “Black Lives Matter!”, “No Justice! No Peace!”, “I Can’t Breathe!” and more could be easily recognized by anyone involved in the movement, largely thanks to their vast popularity on Twitter and other social media.

        Social media also provides accessibility to the movement for the students and helps to explain why this issue in particular garnered support from America’s youth. According to a 2013 Pew Research poll, 96% of black people in the United States aged 18-29 (the youngest age demographic with available data) use a social network, compared to 90% of white people in the same age group[1]. The difference is even more significant on Twitter specifically, where the number for white young adults becomes 28%, and for black young adults becomes 40%[1]. Black youth in particular have taken their outrage at police discrimination and brutality to social media outlets, especially Twitter; this online outrage has, in turn, morphed into student protests including (but certainly not limited to) the one by School Without Walls.

The School Without Walls die-in (The Nation).

School Without Walls Protest. Digital image. The Nation. N.p., n.d. Web. 22 Dec. 2014.

An important part of the responses to the recent deaths is that young people (especially African-Americans) are realizing that this could happen to anyone. This attitude is shaping responses on social media and also leading to protests all over the United States. Such racial discrimination against African American youth by the judicial system has been occurring for a glaring number of years, as seen in the case of George Stinney (a 14-year-old African-American who was wrongly convicted of murder and executed in 1944). The ages of the recent victims of police discrimination give further explanation as to why teenagers are protesting. They can empathize with Michael Brown, Tamir Rice, John Crawford III, and Trayvon Martin, who were aged 18, 12, 23, and 17 respectively at the time of their deaths.

Student speakers at the die-in (The Nation).

School Without Walls High School Protest. Digital image. The Nation. N.p., n.d. Web. 22 Dec. 2014.

There is currently a process within the United States in which black people are becoming increasingly aware of the fact that they could lose a friend, an acquaintance, or a family member at any time and they might not get any help from the American justice system. Students, especially black students, have seen that the police do not necessarily only harm people guilty of a crime, and that the justice system might not protect them if they are the victim of a crime at the hands of another civilian. This concept was expressed vehemently when the murder of Trayvon Martin was in the news thanks to the “Skittles and Iced Tea” campaign (naming the only items an unarmed Martin had with him at the time of his death). It was also seen at the protest when Aram Barnett, a School Without Walls student, spoke to his fellow students and surrounding observers during the die-in. His speech ended on a powerful note, stating that the next victim of police racial bias could be one of his friends or even himself.

           The unique nature of this movement has been able to emotionally charge the American youth. Largely thanks to social media, an attitude of “anyone can be murdered by police”, and the relatability of the recent victims, teenagers are taking a huge part in protests and (as seen with this event) even organizing their own. Only time will tell if this newfound solidarity will ultimately lessen police discrimination, militarization, and brutality, but support by teenagers gives the movement much-needed youthful hope in the mean time.

[1]Smith, Aaron. "Detailed Demographic Tables." Pew Research Internet Project. Pew Research Center, 06 Jan. 2014. Web. 20 Dec. 2014.