Part of what you’re supposed to do in high school is re-create the world. You start breaking away from the rules adults put on you, and you make the world new. That’s your job. Your community, meanwhile, is supposed to give you a safe place to go to school and a decent education when you get there. You study, and they make it possible for you to learn.
Deal, right? Like so many other basics of life in Detroit, education is breaking down. On hearing that the schools emergency manager would use his unilateral authority to close nearby Southwest High School, a couple of hundred kids last week walked out of Detroit’s Western High (Mark Maynard’s got video). The students were suspended, so instead, on Friday they started a “Freedom School” across from Southwest. They plan to study Civil Rights history, among other subjects, while they’re barred from their regular classes.
You can follow the Freedom School on Facebook, Tumblr and Twitter. This morning it sounds like they’re dealing with lousy weather, getting help with classes and looking for help with lunches. After the jump, the speech given by one of their leaders, junior Raychel Gafford, about the walkout. She has the temerity to argue that schools are supposed to be assets to the community — maybe we’re supposed to invest them.
The speech:
Hi my name is Raychel Gafford. I’m 17 years old and i am in the 11th grade. We are the students of Western International standing in solidarity with the students of southwestern. We are here not only in solidarity with southwestern but to draw the line and take a stand for our education.









