Capital Region HS Students Stage Walk-Out to Fight Racism at Football Game

Students executed a walk-out from a Capital Region high school on Tuesday, in response to an extremely troubling event that took place at the school at the end of last week.

They saw something, and they did something, and now, the region is reacting to all of it.

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Students Walk-Out from Guilderland High School in Response to Racism

A report from ABC News 10 in Albany detailed a walk-out that took place at Guilderland High School on Tuesday, October 18th. The school saw roughly 100 students leave class during the middle of the day in response to a racist incident that happened the previous week.

The incident occurred at a school football game on Friday. The students were asked to dress in accordance with a theme, which was blackout night. For some reason, certain students thought it would be a good idea to show up to the game having painted their faces in blackface.

Students were questioned about their actions, and escorted to a bathroom to wash the paint off, but the terrible damage had been done, and then some.

So, a portion of the student body organized the walk-out that happened on Tuesday, in an attempt to protest the racist actions of their fellow students. The students were given the opportunity to share their personal experiences with racism after the initial walk-out, according to WNYT Channel 13's account of the same story.

Guilderland's School District is currently re-assessing their policies dealing in racism in their schools, saying in the interim that racism is not tolerated, and they will continue to work toward promoting respect and acceptance.

These kind of stories just absolutely break my heart to read. Let me make one thing clear, too. This isn't being written as click-bait, nor is it an attempt to make light of a serious situation. I'm not here to preach, nor give any opinions that aren't warranted.

This story is being written in order to present the information to you, the reader, that shows that these types of racist incidents still run rampant in our world. My hope is that if more people read about these kinds of atrocities, hopefully, more people will be motivated to do something about it.

Misguided? Maybe, but definitely worth trying. The walk-out staged yesterday at Guilderland High started this conversation at a local level, and hopefully, it can continue from here.