Racist and homophobic vandalism was found spraypainted on the walls of Walter Johnson High School on Oct. 3, 2021. That evening, WJ principal Jennifer Baker sent out an email to staff, students and parents expressing how “distroubled” she was by these events. She emphasized that such hate in the WJ community would “not be tolerated.” Though MCPS has contacted the Montgomery County Police and activist organizations like the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), there has yet to be any official statement on whether the responsible person has been found.
Following the email that Principal Baker sent out, the WJ administration decided to organize a homeroom presentation on the importance of being anti-racist. But many students were looking for a more hands-on response to tackling this issue. Frustrated by the lack of emotional support and response from school administration, Walter Johnson club leaders took matters into their own hands.
Starting on the Monday following the vandalism, WJ Black Student Union, Minority Scholars Program, WJ Immigration Advocates Club and Uplift WJ decided to offer their meeting times as spaces for reflection and discussion. Later in the week, the clubs held a joint meeting to give students a platform to process what had happened collectively and to voice their opinion on what needed to be done moving forward.
In preparation for the joint meeting, club leaders created a presentation to give an overview of what had happened and where they felt administration needed to improve. Out of concern for miscommunication and a false portrayal of what was actually being done in response, the students were barred from showing the presentation.
Nevertheless, club leaders were persistent and administration allowed the meeting to continue without a slideshow. Leaders stood in front of attendees and offered various talking points to get the conversation going. When students wanted to share, they raised their hand and were passed a microphone.
While students were voicing their frustrations with the absence of systemic changes at Walter Johnson, administration unexpectedly arrived at the meeting. This left the student leaders frustrated and confused. “Prior to speaking with them [the administration] and understanding the point [of them joining], I felt upset. I feel very protective over the spaces we hold and I kind of felt run up on to be completely honest,” WJ Black Student Union President and senior Joyce Onana said.
This incident was enough to trigger an immediate lunch meeting between student leaders and administration, including Principal Baker. During the meeting, it was decided that more direct action was necessary. Students expressed that no homeroom presentation or email was going to be good enough. They proposed a walkout. “Everyone shared a collective feeling of anger towards the pacifism that allows hate crimes like this to happen, fear of being in an environment that does not welcome and celebrate them, and strength in knowing they are not alone. We wanted to hold a walkout to reach as many students as we could and bring attention to the fact that little is being done to fix this problem,” WJ Immigration Advocates Co-President and senior Catherine Prado said.
After four days of joint planning, mainly organized by club leaders and managed by administration, a walkout was held on Friday, Oct. 15 on the football stadium. Students were invited to sit in the bleachers while student leaders such as Onana gave empowering speeches about the encounters Walter Johnson students had with racism and homophobia in their community. The message was titled “WJ Stands Against Hate,” offering support to those targeted in the attack.
The walkout gave students a better understanding of why the vandalism was so emotionally damaging to the community. “I think that the walkout was a very necessary action that is vital towards change in the future; it definitely left a big impact,” Walter Johnson senior Camille Lorillou said.
Other students felt that while the walkout was inspiring, its assembly-like qualities made it less effective. “It was great to hear from those who shared but it sort of felt like we were being talked to, rather than being given the opportunity to come together as a community and make everyone feel included. It didn’t really feel like a walkout but more like an assembly or meeting… it was too staged,” Walter Johnson junior Haley Minnick said.
Moving forward, student leaders want to see systemic changes to the way MCPS responds to instances like this. “I have so much I would like to see from the county and my school but in order to do any of that we need to be able to make our environments more intolerant,” Onana said.
Article written by Ruby Topalian of Walter Johnson High School
Photo courtesy of Ruby Topalian of Walter Johnson High School