Palestinian students lead walkout at CPS’ Chicago Academy High School in support of children killed in Gaza
Many of the desks at Chicago Academy High School sat empty during the last period of classes Thursday, as about 250 students — half of the student body — walked out to demand a cease-fire in solidarity with the children of Gaza.
Palestinian American pupils organized the Chicago Public Schools-sanctioned walkout, leading chants as students marched around the predominantly Latinx school in Dunning on the Northwest Side before returning for the last 30 minutes of classes.
“My school hasn’t really talked about it much, so I wanted to bring attention to it,” said Jenna, a junior whose mother requested her last name not be used for safety reasons. “I’m proud of all the students that came out because they actually were chanting with us, they helped, they understood what we’re protesting for,” she said.
“I’m standing up and using my voice for Palestinian kids who are just like me,” Jenna said, citing the killing of thousands of children since Israel intensified its airstrikes in the Gaza Strip on Oct. 7.
More than 4,600 children have been killed in Gaza and nearly 9,000 injured since, Catherine Russell, executive director of UNICEF, a United Nations program that provides humanitarian aid to children worldwide, said in a statement Wednesday.
“Gaza is becoming a graveyard for children,” U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres said last week.
Schools have been attacked and transformed into shelters, and classes have been suspended, according to UNICEF.
Thinking about how different life is for students in Gaza, where she has family, motivated Chicago Academy senior Jenan to speak out, she said. She also requested her last name not be used because of safety concerns.
“For some students to go to sleep, (with) no guarantee of the next day ... it’s mind blowing,” Jenan said. “Instead of worrying about the next test that’s coming, or some homework they have to finish up, they worry about if they had their prayers all done,” she said. “I don’t think that’s OK. And I feel like more voices need to be heard.
“Even though some people may say that a voice can’t do anything, it can do a lot, actually,” Jenan said. “It can spread awareness. It can change almost everything.”
Junior Alexza Guerrero, among the students who walked out in solidarity, said learning about the casualties of children in Gaza was “shocking.” The issue reminds her of her little brother and the recent loss of her great grandmother, she said. “Showing support for these students and their families that they might lose ... is really important,” Guerrero said of her Palestinian American classmates. “I know how it feels to have a death in the family. And it’s not something to ignore, especially now that a lot of people are dying.”
Freshman Melissa Casillas said she didn’t think twice about walking out and not only because the teachers were OK with students leaving classes. Students in Gaza “do not deserve this at all,” Casillas said. “No one deserves to go through this. All of us, our heart goes out and I pray and I hope that this will end.”
Chicago Academy parent Jillian Forbes said she hopes the school and CPS continue to support student activism. “Our children should not be silenced. I know that there’s kids in other schools that are being suspended ... for saying things like ‘Free Palestine,’” she said. “I’m extremely proud. ... I think it was beautiful,” Forbes said of the walkout.
Jenna, who led the organizing effort, said she was inspired by an October walkout at Reavis High School in Burbank and hopes the Chicago Academy demonstration will inspire others. Holding an informational session beforehand prompted the large turnout, she said. “I wanted everyone to be walking out with the purpose to understand what’s actually going on,” Jenna said.
“It shows we’re all family,” she said of the diversity of students involved. “It shows what’s happening in Palestine affects people in Chicago and people of other cultures.”
Casillas said she was inspired and expects the spirit of solidarity among Chicago Academy students to grow. “I hope in the future that if anything like this happens again, we will all stand up and support each other.”
Jenan said she’ll be navigating the rest of her school year with Palestinian students and family in mind. “Hearing them say ‘I’m OK’ when you know deep down they actually aren’t OK, and you can hear it in their voice, truly affects me as a student,” she said.
But, Jenan added, “I want to give it my all; I want to push through it. I want to finish the school year, not for me — for all those students who didn’t get the opportunity to finish the school year, for all the students who have died.”
