Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service

Your neighborhood. Your News.

Milwaukee NNSnewsMilwaukee NNSSearch
Subscribe to NNS today!
Advertisement
  • Home
  • News
    • Arts and Recreation
    • Community
    • Economic Development
    • Education
    • Health and Wellness
    • Housing
    • Public Safety
    • NNS Spotlight
    • Special Report
  • Posts From Community
    • Submit a Story
  • Community Voices
  • How To
  • Multimedia
    • NNS Local Video
    • Photos
    • NNS on Lake Effect
    • NNS WGLB 1560 Radio
  • Subscribe
  • Donate
  • About
    • Staff
    • Partners
    • News 414
    • The neighborhoods we cover
  • News414
Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service

Diederich College of Communication, Marquette University


Language: English English Spanish Spanish

You are here: Home / Home / Carousel / ‘We deserve to feel safe in our own skin:’ North Division students march for Black Lives Matter

‘We deserve to feel safe in our own skin:’ North Division students march for Black Lives Matter

February 7, 2019 by Allison Dikanovic Leave a Comment

Share this...
Share on Facebook
Facebook
Pin on Pinterest
Pinterest
Tweet about this on Twitter
Twitter
Share on LinkedIn
Linkedin
  • Princess Holms, 15, reads a speech at the Black Lives Matter rally at North Division High School. (Photo by Allison Dikanovic)
  • Students play drums at the back of the crowd, providing a beat for chants during the march. (Photo by Allison Dikanovic)
  • Students, teachers and staff who chose to participate in the march walked the block surrounding North Division. (Photo by Allison Dikanovic)
  • Romeo Rodgers, 17, lead chants and encouraged his friends to participate in the Black Lives Matter march. (Photo by Allison Dikanovic)
  • Jamerriaun Lucas, 18, plays the bass drum to energize student marchers. (Photo by Allison Dikanovic)
  • Jashanti Johnson leads the march from the front, shouting chants into the megaphone. (Photo by Allison Dikanovic)
  • Students, teachers and community supports raise their fists as a symbol of black power. (Photo by Allison Dikanovic)
  • Jashanti Johnson, 15, reads a speech at the Black Lives Matter rally. (Photo by Allison Dikanovic)
  • Students and teachers cheer at the rally after marching around North Division. (Photo by Allison Dikanovic)
  • Student organizers painted a large canvas banner that read "Black Lives Matter" with the support of art teacher Gina Jorgenson. (Photo by Allison Dikanovic)
  • About 200 students chose to participate in the Black Lives Matter march Wednesday morning. (Photo by Allison Dikanovic)
  • Jashanti Johnson, 15, reads a speech she wrote about the importance of supporting black youth and ending violence. (Photo by Allison Dikanovic)

A beating drum accompanied by chants of, “No justice, no peace!” and “Whose streets? Our streets!” echoed down Center Street on Wednesday morning as nearly 200 students marched to support the Black Lives Matter movement at North Division High School.

“We’re out here to show our neighborhood and our community who we are, that we’re a united front, that we matter and that we deserve to feel safe in our own skin,” said Aaliyah Rave, 15, a student leader with North Division’s chapter of Leaders Igniting Transformation (LIT), who organized the march as part of Black Lives Matter at School Week of Action.

Many students sported black hoodies and buttons that read, “Black Lives Matter,” as they walked the ice-coated sidewalks of the block surrounding their school.

Ajaivien Knight, a 17-year-old junior, grabbed a megaphone from his friend and yelled into it, “Say it loud, say it clear, Black Lives Matter here!” He said he decided to join the march because he is frustrated by police brutality and gun violence in his community.



“I know how it feels to lose somebody to police hands,” Knight said, referring to his uncle who had been killed. “People might not care about this, but gun violence can affect anyone’s family. We need to have justice, and we need to have a better system that is more fair to people.”

Akeira Smith, 18, is a senior at North Division, and she said she decided to march because she wants to take action to improve her community for the next generation.

“I have brothers and sisters who are young, and they have to grow up in this community, and it’s not going to be the parents and the staff who make the change,” she said. “It has to be the students.”

Several student leaders from LIT gave speeches at a rally following the march.

“We deserve the same freedom to come out of our house and feel safe, without the fear of being shot by a police officer… We should be getting treated the same as white people, but we’re not… the same blood pumps in our bodies as everyone else, but we continue to get treated as less than,” said Princess Holms, 15. “We deserve better.”

In addition to the march, students and teachers planned a week of activities including workshops on the history of fair housing, a poetry slam and a soul food celebration to educate students about the Black Lives Matter movement and provide opportunities for students to take action.

Some teachers showed documentaries or included related articles in their lesson plans for the week, the ACLU is offering “know your rights” sessions for students, and there is going to be an all-school assembly about the school to prison pipeline.

“North Division was the hub of the Civil Rights Movement back in the day,” said Gina Jorgensen, an art teacher and staff adviser to LIT. She said that the LIT students know that history and are trying to live in that legacy with the work they are doing. In the past, they raised awareness about lead in the water at the school, organized to get filters on the water fountains, registered students to vote, and canvassed before elections.

“We want to give the students an opportunity to stand up for justice and to become leaders,” Jorgensen said.

Milwaukee Public Schools is promoting Black Lives Matter in School Week of Action throughout the district, with a different event each evening, as part of Black History Month. Various schools across the city are also celebrating in their own way, similar to North Division, as well as districts nationwide.

“This week is important because we need to come together as the black community and show that we value our lives and demand that others value our lives as well,” said Jashanti Johnson, 15.

Share this...
Share on Facebook
Facebook
Pin on Pinterest
Pinterest
Tweet about this on Twitter
Twitter
Share on LinkedIn
Linkedin

Filed Under: Carousel, Education, Home, Lindsay Heights, Neighborhoods, News, North

About Allison Dikanovic

Facebook |  Twitter | More stories from Allison

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Advertisement

Recent News

5 things to know and do the weekend of June 2

How the Benedict Center helps women who have been incarcerated

 5 things to know and do the week of May 29

Advertisement
Give today to support our mission. Donate to Milwaukee NNS.
Advertisement

News

  • Arts and Recreation
  • Economic Development
  • Education
  • Health and Wellness
  • Housing
  • Public Safety
  • NNS Spotlight
  • Special Reports

Engage with us

  • Posts from Community
  • Community Voices
  • Submit a Story

About NNS

  • Milwaukee NNS Staff
  • Partners
  • News414
  • The neighborhoods we cover
  • Careers
  • Terms of use
  • Advertise

Connect with us

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Instagram
  • YouTube
  • LinkedIn
  • RSS feed

Communities

Contact

mailing address
Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
Diederich College of Communication
Marquette University
1131 W. Wisconsin Ave.
Johnston Hall 430
Milwaukee, WI 53233

email
info@milwaukeenns.org

phone & fax
PHONE: 414.604.6397 FAX: 414.288.6494


Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service is a project of Diederich College of Communication and Marquette University.
© 2020 Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service. Terms of use.
1131 W. Wisconsin Ave., Milwaukee WI 53233 • info@milwaukeenns.org

Copyright © 2023 · News Pro Theme on Genesis Framework · WordPress · Log in