Concerned parents, students, neighbors, and community members will gather Friday in Blacksburg to protest inaction on school violence following national headlines that have spurred the community to speak up.
Organized by One Voice Blacksburg and local students, the event was originally scheduled for March 14, but canceled after winter weather led to uncertainty about a possible school delay impeded access to the event site.
The rescheduled demonstration will take place at 10 a.m. in the playing fields between Kipps Elementary School and Blacksburg Middle School, located along Prices Fork Road in Blacksburg.
The demonstration coincides with the National School Walkout on April 20, the anniversary of the Columbine High School shooting. Students throughout the United States will walk out of school on this day to protest the lack of political action on school violence.
Students at Blacksburg High School participated in another National School Walkout March 14, and hundreds of community members attended a March for Our Lives rally on Blacksburg’s Henderson Lawn on March 24.
“We are continuing the momentum and letting our leaders know that we care about this issue,” said Mindy Quigley, a One Voice Blacksburg organizer. “A fundamental duty of government is to protect its citizens. When it comes to school violence, our national leaders need to step up and do more.”
Demonstrators will arrive no later than 10 a.m. in the playing fields. Adults will form a ring around the field, staying close enough to join hands with the people on either side of them. As more participants arrive, the circle can expand or concentric circles can be formed. Children are asked to move to the open area in the center of the circle, while high-schoolers may choose to be part of either group.
Between 10 and 10:17 a.m., the adults will join hands in a circle of loving protection while the children play in the center. The 17-minute vigil honors the 17 individuals who were killed at the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School shooting in Parkland, Florida and other school shootings. Supporters are encouraged to use the hashtags #enough and #neveragain to raise awareness.
Following the vigil, teachers, students, and community leaders will speak at the playing fields until 11 a.m. Event organizers have been in touch with the Blacksburg Police Department and Montgomery County Public Schools to ensure safety for participants.
The demonstration will also highlight the special connection between Blacksburg, Virginia and Parkland, Florida. Following the 2007 tragedy at Virginia Tech, which at the time was the worst mass shooting in U.S. history, students at Florida’s Stoneman Douglas High School sent the university a handcrafted wooden book with more than 100 pages of condolences and messages of hope—the largest such item sent to Tech after the shooting.
“Parkland was there for us ten years ago, and now we need to be strong for Parkland and all of the other communities affected by senseless violence,” said Quigley, who credited the Parkland survivors with calling on state and national leaders to curb school violence.
Fiona McMichael, a junior at Blacksburg High School who will participate in the demonstration, added that for students growing up near the Virginia Tech campus, the subject of gun violence has been ever present in their lives. “We are calling for legislation and recognition that there is a problem in our country,” McMichael said. “This is Blacksburg High students letting Parkland know that we stand with them, and we are not moving.”
Organizers are asking participants to arrive at the April 20 demonstration with plenty of time to get in position and consider bringing bubbles, jump ropes, and other safe, compact toys to occupy children during the event. More details about the event logistics and goals are available on the One Voice Blacksburg website.
Established in 2018, One Voice Blacksburg hopes to add our voice to the growing chorus urging action to prevent school violence. The group is open to all who care about this issue and want to work across political divides to find common-sense solutions.
