Students stage nationwide walkouts to protest gun violence
Protests also included activism workshops, speeches. Claudia Cowan reports
A video from a North Carolina high school student went viral Wednesday after the 16-year-old filmed himself as the only student from his school participating in National Walkout Day, The Hill reported.
Justin Blackman, 16, was the only one at Wilson Preparatory Academy, which is east of Raleigh, to participate in the nation-wide movement organized in the wake of the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School massacre in Florida.
“It’s National Walkout Day,” Blackman says in a video he tweeted. “I’m the only one in my school out here. No one here but me. They didn’t really get into it too much. No one really said anything.”
Despite being alone in the protest, Blackman received support on social media from celebrities and gun reform advocates.
“I’m right next to you,” actress Alyssa Milano tweeted.
“You’re not alone Justin.” Chelsea Clinton tweeted.
“We’re watching, Justin!” comedian Samantha Bee tweeted.
By Wednesday evening Blackman’s video had been viewed more than 3.87 million times and retweeted 42,000 times and liked more than 212,000 times.
Unlike other students across the country, Blackman reportedly received no penalties for walking out of class.
In Chicago, a student was handcuffed and taken away by police. Administrators at a high school in Northern California locked the school gates to prevent students from protesting but a group of students broke through the gates chanting, “enough is enough,” The Mercury News reported.
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