#DontTakeItDown

Source: Scott Olson / Getty

On June 9th, a note by Raissa Tcetcho made it to Twitter and it said:

https://twitter.com/MADBLACKTHOT/status/608459682416603137

“Hello all, My name is Raissa Tchetcho and I attend Oxon Hill High School. Recently, our extremely talented honors art students created a piece to showcase how brutal the police have been to the African American community. Slaughtering them, whether they be innocent or armless. The piece included statistics and our viewpoints on what has been going on in society. It was truly an amazing and heartfelt display. Unfortunately we were not able to keep it up in our building. Words and pictures got out and some people felt offended by the work and we were forced to remove it. This action has left us so heartbroken, but we will not give up that easily. Please, we need your help to bring it back. It everyone could tweet the hashtag #Donttakeitdown at 10:30 pm tonight and make the picture of our art your header, we could possibly make it trend and gain some attention. This is not just about Oxon Hill, it’s about our voices being silenced. We REFUSE to be denied or right to freedom, not when WE are getting killed. Everyday.”

Point well made, and by a high school student no less. This generation is fired up and wants to see real change in systematic racism in America. This is so refreshing and lovely display of how social media can help spark and carry on major conversations around race, police brutality and equality.

MUST READ: Why Black Achievement Won’t Save Us From Police Brutality [OPINION]

The art is stunning, well done and needed. It’s symbolically moving that the artist used bullet holes with blood to represent the American flag. It represents everything about America’s history of systematic racism and has obviously caused a stir, since it’s been taken down by the school’s powers that be. “Words and pictures got out and some people felt offended by the work and we were forced to remove it,” Raissa wrote.

Social media has erupted in support of Oxon Hill students who want to keep the conversation going:

https://twitter.com/zarix_/status/608426194137157632

https://twitter.com/Zaebino/status/608413731442290691

https://twitter.com/MsPackyetti/status/608467360383684608

So please, if you think this conversation is important, especially for high school students, share the above photo and hashtag. #DontTakeItDown

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