Maya McFadden Photos
Participants in Thursday's "Children's March" to Edgewood Park.
One hundred and fifty New Haven middle and high school students put their pencils down and posters up Thursday to give the city a lesson on solidarity, passion, and leading through action.
The 150 students from Elm City Montessori School, Beecher School, Common Ground, and Edgewood School participated in an annual “Children’s March” to Edgewood Park.
Each student advocated for a cause they were personally passionate about. Calls for justice ranged from animal rights, access to abortion, and climate change, to gun violence, immigration, and poverty.
Groups of dozens of students arrived at Edgewood Park each from different directions to join at the gazebo for music and speeches. Montessori Magnet Resource Teacher David Weinreb and Anti-bias/anti-racism director Amelia Allen Sherwood spearheaded organizing the event for the second year in a row to highlight student voice and power.
“We are powerful in numbers and we wanted to make sure that we move in a space of community,” Sherwood said. “It was important to invite others into the work so our learners understand the significance of coalition building.”
Students held up signs reading “Hear me loud and clear,” “Violence is not how to solve problems,” “Health care is a human right,” and “Children are not punching bags.”
Aeithia Aponte
Montessori seventh-grader Aeithia Aponte (pictured) said she joined the Thursday march to inspire students all over the world to rally against gun violence.
Aponte held up a double-sided sign Thursday reading “End Gun Violence” on one side, “Make the children a priority” on the other.
She described her school as a safe space but said she still worries when she hears about school shootings happening, like the slaughter of 19 students and two teachers this week in Uvalde, Texas.
“I wonder: Will it happen to me?” she said.
Montessori fourth-grader Luigi Rodriguez, who called for an end to animal testing and cruelty, said he has marched in Black Lives Matter protests in the past.
Throughout May, the participating schools’ students learned in their classrooms about social justice, specifically the Birmingham Children’s Crusade of 1963. The students then organized to execute their in-class work into action for the rally.
Event co-sponsors included Edgewood Creative Thinking through STEAM Magnet School, L.W. Beecher Museum Magnet School of Arts and Sciences, High School in the Community, Common Ground High School, Mauro-Sheridan Interdistrict Magnet School, Black Lives Matter New Haven, New Haven Pride Center, Citywide Youth Coalition, City of New Haven LGBTQ Youth Task Force, New Haven Climate Movement, Westville Village Renaissance Alliance, Semilla Collective, and Students for Educational Justice.
Mayor Justin Elicker works the crowd.
Alex Lawrence and Ryan McKnight.
Sixth-grader at Edgewood Ryan McKnight read a speech in reaction to the Texas school shooting.
“School is like our second home where we learn, laugh, play.” McKnight said.
He recalled being shocked and afraid when he learned about the 2012 Sandy Hook school shooting. “After Sandy Hook, something should have been done so the kids in Texas would be alive,” he said.
McKnight’s friend Alex Lawrence agreed: “It should be impossible for a child to get ahold of a firearm.”
Tracine Allen, Theo River, and Ja'Mese Hunter.
Edgewood eighth-graders Theo “Kenny” River and Tracine Allen read speeches at the rally about child refugees.
“They have to deal with bombs coming down their street and the army coming into their houses, often not announced. Imagine bombs coming down your street where you live. imagine having the military come into your homes and take you to a different country,” River said.
River said they are inspired by teachers, parents, and friends to always speak up for what’s right for all humans.
Allen agreed and said she hopes to engage in more community activism in high school.
“No one is to be left out no matter their background or where they come from. Some refugees are often disguised, so it doesn’t hurt to be nice. You never know you could be sitting next to one right now,” Allen said.
Fifth-grader Ja’Mese Hunter read a statement about gun violence in the community. “We have children losing their parents, siblings and their friends, she said. “If you see something, say something.”
Click here and here to watch videos of the rally.
These students were put up to it and used by the organizations involved.