Students Organize Protest Addressing Racial Discrimination and Gun Safety
Students protest at Johnson County District Court Office on April 20 about racial discrimination and gun safety led by freshman Teddy Garcia, Olivia Johnson and Delaney Kent.
April 27, 2023
Students protest at Johnson County District Court Office on April 20 about racial discrimination and gun safety led by freshman Teddy Garcia, Olivia Johnson and Delaney Kent.
On April 20, over 30 Olathe West students, along with friends and family, participated in a school walkout and protest at the Johnson County District Court Office.
The students assembled at the event entrance at 11:45 a.m. and started marching east on Santa Fe towards the Johnson County Courthouse. The protest was organized by a group of freshman and the participants were prepared, some even bringing cases of water for the long walk and protest.
Once at the courthouse, they stayed past 3 p.m. chanting and holding self-made protest signs, some of which were asking passing drivers to honk in order to show their support for the movement.
“We’re making this [protest] in regards to gun violence and how we need to show our community how to stay together,” Garcia said. “Our students need to be worrying about their next grade on this test, not if they are going to be coming home alive or not.”
The racial and gun safety protest was made on short notice by freshmen Teddy Garcia, Olivia Johnson and Delaney Kent in the wake of Ralph Yarl, a 16-year-old African American male who was shot in Kansas City, Missouri on April 13.
“We need to focus more on getting people to work together instead of killing each other off,” Kent said.
While the protest came together quickly, the students have felt passionate about this cause for awhile. Due to the steady growth of gun violence, some have been discussing the as further tragedies can be prevented, trying to find ways to make a change. However, this topic of concern has been around for decades. On April 20, 1999, the well-known Columbine shooting occurred, going down in history as one of the first major school shootings. The protests happened on the anniversary of the shooting.
“We shouldn’t be worried about guns, [we should] protect our kids,” Johnson said.
