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White Plains HS Students Protest Non-Indictment In Ferguson

WHITE PLAINS, N.Y. – Some White Plains High School students were so impassioned by the news that Police Officer Darren Wilson would not be indicted in the shooting death of Mike Brown in Ferguson, Mo., that they could not stand by idly.

White Plains High School students hold up peace signs during their protest at Renaissance Plaza.

White Plains High School students hold up peace signs during their protest at Renaissance Plaza.

Photo Credit: Facebook
White Plains High School students protest the decision not to indict Officer Darren Wilson in the shooting death of Mike Brown in Ferguson, Missouri

White Plains High School students protest the decision not to indict Officer Darren Wilson in the shooting death of Mike Brown in Ferguson, Missouri

Photo Credit: Facebook
White Plains High School students hold up peace signs during their protest at the Westchester County Courthouse

White Plains High School students hold up peace signs during their protest at the Westchester County Courthouse

Photo Credit: Facebook
White Plains High School students hold up peace signs during their protest at Renaissance Plaza

White Plains High School students hold up peace signs during their protest at Renaissance Plaza

Photo Credit: Facebook

Within 24 hours on Tuesday, Nov. 25, the students organized a school walkout and march to city’s downtown to protest the decision, after a flurry of texts and social media messages between students the night before.

“He was young, he was college bound and he had a future,” said 16-year-old Raina Kadavil, a senior at the school and president of the school’s Global Ambassador’s club, who organized the event with friend Nina Tucker.

“Some of our signs today said ‘Who's Next?’ It could be anyone of us. There’s this whole cycle of negative energy, and if they youth doesn’t speak up who will?”

About 60 students walked out of school at 11:35 a.m. with permission from school officials. Students marched a few miles to the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. statue at the Westchester County Court House and to Renaissance Plaza chanting “Hands Up, Don’t Shoot” and “We Are Mike Brown.”

Police vehicles and school staff members accompanied students for safety.

“The students thought it was important that they express their feelings,” said White Plains Superintendent of Schools Tim Connors. “They had a plan to do this, and it’s our experience that when they want to express their civil rights they do it in an orderly fashion.”

Both Connors and student protesters expressed their appreciation for the assistance of the White Plains Police Department.

“A big thank you to the White Plains Law Enforcement who escorted us the entire way,” a student Tweeted.

The event was coordinated and documented on Twitter under the hashtag #TigersForJustice. The protest eventually swelled to about 200 individuals, according to LoHud.com.

“This isn’t an isolated thing and teens are paying attention to what’s going on and what was going on leading up to this,” said  “This was the last straw.”

A second protest is planned at Renaissance Plaza for 5:30 p.m., according to WESPAC Foundation’s Twitter page.

 

 

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