CP Photo: Jared Wickerham
Pa. State Rep. Summer Lee raises her fist while speaking at Taylor Allderdice High School for a protest organized by the school's Black Student Union
After opening the event with members of the school band performing "We Shall Overcome," the students began reading about the life and death of victims of police violence, often using first-person as if it were the victims themselves talking. They continued this throughout the program, covering the lives of Breonna Taylor, George Floyd, Philando Castile, Kalief Browder, Ahmaud Arbery, Jonny Gammage, and Alton Sterling.
The student organizers spoke about how police feeling fear on the job doesn't compare to the fear Black people have around the police, with one student saying, "If you fear your job that much, you can quit. I cannot quit being Black."
Dakota Castro-Jarrett, a rising senior at Allderdice and one of the organizers of the protest, gave an abbreviated lesson on the history of police in America, and their origins as slave patrols that aided the wealthy white population. He said there were "fundamental flaws with the nature of policing in America."
The protest was originally organized outside the Sixth Presbyterian Church because that was the location of the Tree of Life vigil, but after discussing it with some other students, the organizers felt it would have more meaning to have it on the lawn of their school.
Castro-Jarett says the school is segregated with Black students mostly in "mainstream classes" and white students in honors or AP classes.
"It's this huge disparity in our community," he said. "We felt that it was important to do it here to represent that, despite these disparities, our community is able to come together and discuss issues like this."
Rabbi Myers spoke about how he was grateful to the police for saving his life during the Tree of Life massacre, and expressed his desire for love and hope instead of hate, going as far as saying he was "taking a pledge" against "saying the 'h-word'.
Toward the end of event, Lee gave a rousing speech to the crowd where she encouraged people to keep the momentum going, and "live Black Lives Matter, instead of just saying it."
In a reference to some of the property damage that has occurred infrequently at protests, Lee warned that reports of outside agitators, which both the police and Mayor Bill Peduto say caused the property damage that day, were exaggerated and threatened to divide people.
"Oppressive institutions don't get to tell the oppressed how they're gonna fight for their freedom," said Lee.
The rest of her speech touched on everything from the disparate effects of poor air quality and lack of health care, to defunding the police.
The event concluded with a performance of "Rise Up" by Andra Day, and of "Lift Every Voice and Sing" from the school band.
