A Minneapolis middle school provided sixth and seventh grade students guidance on preparing to attend Black Lives Matter protests, including what to wear and what to do if arrested by police.
The guide was disseminated to students at Justice Page Middle School and was part of a newsletter published by Minneapolis Public Schools Community Education. A copy of the newsletter was obtained by the parent activist organization Parents Defending Education.
The organization said the guide was provided to students but not parents.
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The impetus for the guide was BLM protests prompted by the shooting of Minneapolis resident Amir Locke, a black man who was killed Feb. 2 by police serving a no-knock warrant. Locke was sleeping in the apartment that was being searched but did not live there and was not a subject of the investigation.
Billed as “protest tips and etiquette,” the guide tells students to avoid attending protests alone and to wear long sleeves, a mask, and glasses to protect themselves from tear gas. It also says they should “wear nondescript clothing” because “even if you aren’t breaking the law, law enforcement may still try to come after you. In these situations, it’s better to be paranoid than careless.”
The guide provides special instructions for nonblack protest attendees, who should be aware that they are there “to show [their] support and amplify black voices,” and “if they’re offering the megaphone for anyone to speak, it’s not for you.”
Students were also told that if they were arrested, they should invoke their right to remain silent, ask for a lawyer, “insist that they give you a mask,” and decline any searches by police.
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Parents Defending Education Director of Outreach Erika Sanzi blasted the guide, saying, “It is inappropriate for a school system to be providing protesting advice to 12-year-olds, especially when it is for particular causes and varies based on students’ race. It is also a problem that it was done behind the backs of parents.”
Minneapolis Public Schools Community Education did not respond to a request for comment.
