Students held a rally on Thursday, Oct. 17 to raise awareness about racist incidents occurring in MCPS.
The rally, led by the Black Student Union (BSU) and Minority Scholars Program (MSP), protested the lack of actions taken by MCPS against a Wootton student who used a school printer to create 1,000 sheets of paper showcasing a racial slur.
While the act was committed on May 15, Principal Douglas Nelson was only notified of the incident on May 17. Students who witnessed the images being printed claimed that a teacher was present while the pages were produced. According to Wootton’s administration, the student, identified as a freshman, was punished according to MCPS’s Code of Conduct, but many students believe that the punishment wasn’t nearly harsh enough considering the actions of the guilty student.
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MSP and BSU rally in support of Wootton’s Black community after a bigoted incident in May 2024. Students agreed that the response to the act was lackluster.
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A BSU student holds a sign created during a joint meeting between MSP and BSU. The saying on the sign, “Stand on it, Speak on it, Act on it,” was a mantra for the rally which aimed to provoke more conversation throughout the county.
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Staff and students at the anti-racism rally roll up a banner at the end of the demonstration. Chants were heard throughout the demonstration to fight racism.
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The black hand prints on the banner represent solidarity against racism. Students wore red and black to support the cause.
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“I think that the administration at Wootton was notified of it and they acknowledged it, but I don’t think that much action was taken against the student that did it or just in general to address it,” senior MSP president Bella Relacion said.
In response to this act of hate and the actions taken by Wootton and MCPS’s administrations, BSUs and MSPs located in schools across the county agreed to unite and each host a rally at their respective schools on Thursday at 11:30 a.m. Members of WJ’s BSU and MSP gave speeches and held up signs at the rally, urging students to join their fight and end discrimination.
“We want to bring attention because everyone at BSU Wootton and the MSP students did the right thing and talked to someone who’s a trusted adult, but they really failed,” senior BSU treasurer Michelle Lett said.
Relacion said that the rally was held on Thursday with the goal of getting teachers and staff to talk about the issue on Friday’s professional development day.
Despite action taken, racial terms were later scribbled all over a bathroom at Wootton. The BSU and MSP called out to both staff and students, encouraging them to join them in their fight for peace and equality.
“I feel like if both staff and students were more supportive, our school system would be a lot better,” senior MSP treasurer Helam Legesse said.
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Junior Lorena Trevino cheers for change in MCPS. The MSP and BSU led their rally at the front of the school in order to gain as much attention as possible so that recent incidents would not be unheard.
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Students from MSP and BSU pose with Principal Nicole Morgan and others at the end of the rally. Administrators and teachers across all subject areas joined the demonstration.
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Senior Michelle Lett speaks through a megaphone about an incident at Wootton last spring in which a student printed 1,000 copies of paper with a racial slur on it. “This is applicable; this is not only just Wootton, it’s countywide,” Lett said.
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