At 10:30 a.m. today, students from six different Minneapolis public and private high schools walked out of class to Martin Luther King Park, protesting for changes regarding racial equality they would like to see made in their schools.

Prompted by the recent court case involving the arrest of 36 people at the Black Lives Matter protest at the Mall of America in December 2014, the group of around 1,500 rallied to demand a change in society and the classroom.

According to junior Betty Mfalingundi, a student leader of Black Lives Matter at South High School, students from South, Southwest, Roosevelt, Patrick Henry, St. Paul Conservatory of Performing Arts and Washburn High School made up the majority of those attending.

Mfalingundi said the purpose of the walkout was to display students’ overarching demands which included alternatives to suspensions, cultural competency and bias training for teachers, Black/African American history taught as a requirement in schools, more staff of color in administrative and teaching roles and to end police patrols in schools.

“The purpose of this protest was to join the effort that occurred earlier today at the Mall of America, but mainly to raise demands that we feel directly affect students at our schools everyday,” Mfaligundi said. “Many of these demands are problems some feel more than others in our schools and we want to eliminate that.”

Mfaligundi, along with other student leaders from the other schools, said she was  optimistic about the outcome of the walkout and its exposure to the public.

“We were extremely happy with the outcome of the walkout as it reflected greatly of the support of Minneapolis’ students,” Mfaligundi said.  “The amount of coverage we had via the news and social media was a great success.”

Although senior Shugri Bashir did not participate in the walkout, she said the communal nature of the protest made her hopeful for the future of the movement.

“It was very interesting and inspiring to see that these students came together from different schools and different ethnicities to fight for something they believe in,” Bashir said. “I hope the authorities and schools allow them to continue these protests and incorporate changes in their schools for what they are protesting for.”

Micheal McDowell, public relations supervisor for Black Lives Matter Minneapolis, said the student protest added to the optimism surrounding the fight against racism.

“It’s incredible to see students taking a stand for their emotions and beliefs and fighting for change in their school,” McDowell said. “Racism affects everyone in society, and it’s rejuvenating to see our youth speaking for themselves on the issue.”