Musah Sesay & Student Activists: 18 Who Made a Difference in 2018
Saturday, December 29, 2018
2018 was a year of increased student activism throughout the state, which saw young Rhode Islanders calling for attention to such issues as the need for enhanced safety in schools — and accountability in education.
Take Classical High School Junior Musah Sesay, who joined GoLocal News Editor Kate Nagle in studio on GoLocal LIVE in March, where he spoke to the student walkout planned for March 14 in support of gun control legislation following the recent school shooting in Florida.
Sesay spoke to the concern among students both at Classical and throughout the city, and how he expected "at least half" the student body to take to the streets and march to the Rhode Island State House- and how he hoped it would result in legislative action.
GET THE LATEST BREAKING NEWS HERE -- SIGN UP FOR GOLOCAL FREE DAILY EBLASTThen in November, Sesay stepped forward when a federal class action suit was filed on behalf of all Rhode Island public school students to establish the right under the Constitution to an “adequate education to prepare young people for full civic participation.”
“I have attended the public schools in Rhode Island for my entire life and have not been exposed to how to engage sufficiently in critical thinking or even the basics of how to participate in democratic institutions,” said Sesay, a co-plaintiff and senior at Classical High School in Providence. “It is only through my work with advocacy organizations outside of school that I have become aware of what is missing from my preparation in school for adult life as a fully engaged member of the community.”
“Our United States Supreme Court has recognized that the denial of adequate education denies children the ability to live within the structure of our civic institutions and even denies them the possibility to contribute to ‘the progress of our nation.’ However for a variety of reasons the Court has stopped short of finding that all children have a fundamental right to that education that enables them to participate and succeed in all aspects of civic life as adults.” said local co-counsel Jennifer Wood, Executive Director of the R.I. Center for Justice.
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