Written by Emma Roberts, Illustration by Emily Wachter
On May 25, George Floyd was killed by Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin after allegedly using a counterfeit $20 bill. Since then, mass protests have erupted across the United States and around the world.
It’s estimated that 15 to 26 million people have participated in the ongoing protests, which makes them the most-attended civil rights protests in American history. Naturally, the past few months have left many of us wondering what protests came before — what were their goals? Were students involved? And if so, what can we learn from them?
Starting this week, we will be launching the Student Protest Project. A new series of articles to shine a spotlight on various student protests throughout history and around the world. There are so many protests happening right now, and it is important to put them in perspective.
From Kent State to Hong Kong, student activism is as prevalent in our past as it is today. Each week, we’ll go in-depth as to the causes, lead-up, events and aftermath of each protest, providing commentary and context for each. Afterward, we’ll analyze how the lessons learned from these protests can be applied by students today.
