Defunding the police in Detroit schools: A youth perspective | Eclectablog

Defunding the police in Detroit schools: A youth perspective | Eclectablog

Defunding the police in Detroit schools: A youth perspective

The following essay was written by students in the Detroit Public Schools Community District. At a time when the Overton Window view about the role of policing in our society is shifting ever more to the left, their voice is important and deserves to be heard. Organized by the group 482Forward which is working for a quality education for EVERY child in Detroit, the contributors to this piece are:

• Malacah Mason–Contributing writer
• Emily Wilson–Contributing writer
• Laila Nasher–Contributing writer
• Ely Vasquez–Contributing writer
• Surabhi Prasad–Contributing writer
• Jecholiah Marriott–Contributing writer
• Yvonne Navarrete-Castaneda–Contributing writer
• Sunidhi Majalikar–Contributing editor
• Naomi Wilson–Contributing editor

You can read about a recent action taken by 482Forward members HERE.

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Black Youth and Encounters with Police:

I was 14 and in the 8th grade when a girl assaulted me and I defended myself. They took us down to the counselor’s office. They closed the door. It was just me, her, the counselor, and the officer that they also called in. They let the girl explain her point of view but I didn’t get the same chance. So I was like, “am I going to get a chance to explain”? But every time I tried to cut in, they cut me off. I was getting pushback for what I did. Even though the whole thing was self-defense. But with the way it was going, I couldn’t even respond. If I had responded, the officer probably would have used it against me. I was taught my rights, so I figured that if I had said something, they would CONTINUE READING: Defunding the police in Detroit schools: A youth perspective | Eclectablog