samedi 17 mars 2018

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This 16-Year-Old Walked Out of His High School - Alone - on National Walkout Day

By  07:07  No comments

Justin Blackman made a promise to walk out of his school campus on Wednesday, March 14, in support of the national school walkout that called for an end to mass shootings. The catch? He was the only student in his school to do so.

The 16-year-old left his desk at Wilson Preparatory Academy in Wilson, NC, at 10:00 a.m. and stood outside alone for 17 minutes - a minute for each person killed in the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School mass shooting, which occurred Feb. 14 in Parkland, FL. Wilson Preparatory has about 700 students.

In a video that he shared on Twitter and which has since gone viral, Blackman explained that he was in Spanish class when he got up to leave. He said no one in the room said anything, except for his teacher, who allowed Blackman to participate. "He let me walk out. He didn't really care," Blackman said.

Blackman told CNN his classmates didn't seem to know about the walkout when he spoke to them about it that morning. He said while he was disappointed no one else participated, the moment was eye-opening.

"Now I truly know that one person is all it takes," he said. "No matter the age, skin color, gender - it doesn't matter."

Blackman said a student congratulated him when he returned to the classroom. While Wilson Preparatory wouldn't comment on the walkouts, Janet Conner-Knox, who handles public relations for the school, did tell CNN, "We teach our students to be independent thinkers."

The responses to Blackman's actions have been overwhelmingly positive on Twitter. While some students have been punished for yesterday's walkout, including more than 200 students in Pennsylvania who will be issued detention, it's inspiring to see the support and praise student protesters received for yesterday's protest.



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