[B]URLINGTON — Around 300 students from Edmunds Middle School walked out of class Monday to protest what they view as racism in the school and community.
The student-led protest started with chants outside of the Main Street school. Students then marched down to City Hall and up and down Church Street, chanting and carrying anti-racism signs.
Signs included “This school is racist,” “The only thing that should be sorted by color is laundry,” “Stop the Racism, Not all Muslims are terrorists” and “When the color of your skin is seen as a weapon you will never be seen as unarmed.”
Other students carried “Black Lives Matter” posters.
Chants included “Down, Down, Down with racism,” “Black Lives Matter” and “Hey, Hey, Ho, Ho, Racism has got to go.”
In an email to parents, Edmunds Middle School principal Meg McDonough wrote that the students were expressing “feelings of Racism in our school community.”
“Our hope is this act will move our community further in our need to both discuss and address issues related to racism,” McDonough wrote.
Teachers, staff and parents supervised and supported the walkout, McDonough wrote.
