Black Lives Matter is our truth and call to action. It’s time for a wave of change that creates a new normal. Read More.

Our Turn
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The latest news and perspectives on the fight for educational equity, from the voices of students and more.

Our Turn to Lead and Heal

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By Salma Perez

My roots of identity, culture, and traditions sprout from the rivers streams deep in the mountains of Oaxaca. My name is Salma Ocelotlxochitl Perez, I am a young indigenous Zapoteca and Mixteca, I belong to the cloud people....

"Black Lives Matter" is not a debate. It’s a fact.

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By Diarra Brooks

I was sitting in my hammock Wednesday, September 23rd listening to my peers talk about Black liberation and community-led safety when I heard the news. It had been a long, hard day already, even though it was only 2pm, as I sat there still reeling from the loss...

Our Turn to Lead and Heal

featured

By Salma Perez

My roots of identity, culture, and traditions sprout from the rivers streams deep in the mountains of Oaxaca. My name is Salma Ocelotlxochitl Perez, I am a young indigenous Zapoteca and Mixteca, I belong to the cloud people. I am a student, organizer, and activist. I grew up...

It's Our Turn for an LGBTQ Inclusive Education System

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By Matt Grady

As Pride Month has come and gone, it’s important that we reflect and celebrate the amazing progress that has been made, while remembering the ongoing fight for true LGBTQ equality, especially within our education system. This past Pride, the LGBTQ community and allies across the world commemorated the...

Power to Mi Gente

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By Ashley Salazar

Back in January my cousin asked for help on her high school project, and all I needed to do was answer three questions. 

I opened up the document and read the first question: “Have you ever been discriminated against? If so how did that...

We Demand Denver Public Schools Support Black Lives Matter Resolution

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By Our Turn

June 10, 2020

Dear Denver Public Schools Board of Education Directors,

We represent 11 organizations, many of which work with students, parents, and teachers in the Denver metro area, and we are writing to express our unwavering support for the Black Lives Matter Resolution....

Our Turn in The News: Inside the Student Campaign That Convinced Minneapolis to Act — and Sparked a Nationwide Trend

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By Our Turn

Originally published in The 74 - Wikipedia

Brianna Phillips’s life was already surreal when she answered a phone call that turned out to be from a reporter in Norway. A sophomore at Minneapolis’s Patrick Henry High School, she lives “over north” — local parlance for a...

The Cut: Minneapolis Public School Board Cancels Contract With Police

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By Our Turn

The Minneapolis Public School board is canceling its contract with the city’s police department, following a unanimous vote on Tuesday. It had previously budgeted $1.1 million to employ school resource officers (SROs), according to Mpls.St.Paul Magazine, a program that students and organizers have been challenging for years.

But it was...

Colorlines: Minneapolis Board of Ed Unanimously Votes to Remove Police From Public Schools

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By Our Turn

The Minneapolis Board of Education (MBOE) voted unanimously on Tuesday (June 2) to end their contract with the local police department in the wake of George Floyd’s death, The Guardian reports. “We cannot continue to be in partnership with an organization that has the culture of violence and racism that...

Buzzfeed: Minneapolis Public Schools Voted To End Its Contract With The City’s Police After The Death Of George Floyd

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By Our Turn

The board of Minneapolis Public Schools voted unanimously Tuesday to end the district’s $1.1 million contract with the Minneapolis Police Department after the death of George Floyd, saying the actions of city police officers “run directly counter to the values” of the school district.

It is among the earliest and...

MSP Mag: Minneapolis Students Pressure School District to Sever Ties with the Police

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By Our Turn

When Rayna Acha hears a cop car rush through her neighborhood, her stomach drops.

"I see a lot of police where I live, and it's scary. I get scared for my neighbors because they're Black," she says. This constant anxiety around the police doesn't end when she goes to school....

Meet Ken, Our New Chief Program Officer

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By Our Turn

What drew you to organizing?

As a young child, I learned about the incarceration of my family during WWII and the whole experience they had to go through during that incarceration and after the war. It made life very difficult for my family. In spite of these...

We demand MPS end its contract with the Minneapolis Police Department

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By Our Turn

Dear Minneapolis Public Schools Board of Directors,

We are writing to demand Minneapolis Public Schools end its partnership with the Minneapolis Police Department following the racialized violence that has taken place at the hands of its officers, as exemplified in the murder of George Floyd this...