“We are not going, not without a fight.” – Asean Johnson
When 9-year-old Asean Johnson found out that his school, Marcus Garvey Elementary, was sadly slated for closure—he decided he wasn’t going down with a fight.
Instead, he went toe-to-toe with Chicago Mayor, Rahm Emanuel and the ‘appointed’ members of the now infamous, Chicago Public School Administration.
“I come to you today to talk about the school closings. Rahm Emanuel thinks that we all are toys; he thinks he can just come into our schools and move all our kids all over they lines, and just say, “Oh, we can build a building right here. Let’s just take this school out–we don’t care about these kids.” But it’s kids in there. They need safety.”
He spoke from his heart, and added most brilliantly,
“You should be investing in these schools, not closing them. You should be supporting these schools, not closing them.”
In a time when most children are home glued to their video game systems—this young man put everything in his world aside simply to make this most noteworthy stand.
“We are going to City Hall, we’re confronting Rahm Emanuel. We are not toys. We are not going, not without a fight.”
And with those few words, this magnificent young man brought the entire crowd at this Chicago school closing rally to their feet.
I am so very proud of this young man, for his passion…determination…and his courage. That on this day, and in finding his heart—he stands before all of us fearless and unwavering.
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