Going “Black to School” With Counselors Not Cops!:
An interview on the victory for #PoliceFreeSchools with Minneapolis student leader Nathaniel Genene
An interview with Minneapolis student leader Nathaniel Genene about the uprising for Black lives, the victory of removing police from public schools, and the need to rethink what school looks like.
By Jesse Hagopian
On June 2, in the wake of the murder of George Floyd by a police officer, the Minneapolis Public Schools school board voted to terminate the Minneapolis Police Department’s contract, removing all police from their schools. The board also directed Superintendent Ed Graff to come up with a new plan for school safety by August 18, the date of the board’s next meeting.
While the uprising in response to the murder of George Floyd was the immediate catalyst to the removal of police from MPS, many youth had been working toward this goal for years. A 2018–19 survey by Minneapolis Public Schools survey showed that school cops had more interactions with black students than with their peers. MPS will save $1.1 million annually by not contracting with the police department.
On June 7, Seattle high school teacher and author Jesse Hagopian interviewed Minneapolis Public School student Nathaniel Genene about the uprising in Minneapolis against police violence and the movement to remove police from the schools. Nathaniel is the current student representative on the Minneapolis Board of Education and an officer on the citywide Youth Leadership Council for the Minneapolis public schools.
A version of this interview was originally published in The Nation magazine.
Minneapolis Public Schools Expel the Police!
Jesse Hagopian: Thanks for taking the time to talk to me, Nathaniel. I know with the uprising at your doorstep, you have a lot going on. I want to talk with you about the dramatic victory to remove police from the Minneapolis schools. But before we get there, let’s start with your experience as a black student in the school system. Can CONTINUE READING: Going “Black to School” With Counselors Not Cops!: An interview on the victory for #PoliceFreeSchools with Minneapolis student leader Nathaniel Genene – I AM AN EDUCATOR