On May 25, 2020, George Floyd was placed under arrest after a gas station clerk had called the police to report Floyd who allegedly used a counterfeit 20 dollar bill to buy a pack of cigarettes. During that period of detainment, officer Derek Chauvin held his knee on Floyd’s throat for 8 minutes and 46 seconds. 

This event set off a chain reaction of protests to try to end racial inequality. Most know this as Black Lives Matter, or BLM, which was created in 2013 by Alicia Garza, Opal Tometi, and Patrisse Cullors in order to raise awareness and find solutions for inequalities that the black community is facing. This is not the only organization people are using to fight inequality right now, but it is a main one. 

With this controversial topic, many people are afraid to voice their opinions due to how others will react. I was originally going to write this article about other people’s opinions on if BLM should be taught in schools, but I ran into a problem. No one would go on record. I talked to four teachers in HR and one at another school and not one wanted to go on record. 

According to U.S. News and World Report, HR is a predominantly white school with 71% of the school being white, while only 2% of the school’s population is black. According to the Black Demographics website, in 2019 about 14.6% of the US population is black. 

With Highlands Ranch being predominantly white, it is extremely important to address the issue that other communities are facing.  

I believe that BLM should be taught in schools because the black community has faced incredible amounts of inequality, but I do believe that it should be taught in a non-biased way.

For example, when we learn about the Civil War, teachers can’t say the Union was right and anyone who fought or believed in the Confederate side was wrong. The teachers teach it with only facts and they remain unbiased. 

A common argument of why BLM shouldn’t be taught in schools is because people believe that current political topics do not belong in schools, which is a fair point, but how many kids do you know that watch the news in their free time? 

Students rely on teachers showing the news or showing current events in class to keep them informed. Just because a subject is taught in class does not mean that the teacher’s opinion is also taught. 

A change needs to be made and the only way to make a change is to acknowledge and fix the problem. Ways that you can help the black community and make a difference is donate to BLM or any other organization like that, and you can spread the word. Don’t be afraid of what people will think. Stand up for what you believe in. 

Jordan Pazos, Staff Reporter