Students protesting gun violence after the Covenant School shooting are shifting gears. The demonstrations over the last couple of weeks have largely been in reaction to the attack. But some students are now preparing for the longterm fight for gun reform — and thinking bigger.
On Thursday afternoon, Rev. Osagyefo Sekou was teaching the principles of nonviolent direct action. He was passing on lessons he learned as a student of the Black Freedom Movement, under the mentorship of figures like James Lawson.
A few dozen people, mostly students, stood in rows.
In a call and response, Sekou asked for the first rule of nonviolence: “Preservation of life.”
Sekou called for the second rule.
“Live to fight another day,” they said in unison.
“We do this work out of what?” he asked.
“Deep and abiding love,” they responded, arms linked, on the lawn of Centennial Park.
Among them is local high schooler Owen Reynolds, who attends Martin Luther King Jr. Magnet High School.
“Nashville has a such a famous and well-documented history of all these sit-ins that have happened here. There’s so much history behind Civil Rights in Nashville,” Reynolds said. “And I think I’m hoping to better understand how they were so effective in achieving real change and kind of apply that to all of our movements too.”
Some of these students have been rallying at the capitol, asking lawmakers to make their schools safer.
But organizer Connor Warmuth with the Tennessee Student Solidarity Network said combatting gun violence is just one facet of their work.
“Our priority is about building power — building student power — to mobilize around things in Tennessee.”
Warmuth said the group is interested in a variety of other interconnected issues, like setting up mutual aid networks and fighting for trans rights.
They said the network plans to continue connecting and organizing students across the state.
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