Walkout at Amherst Schools in Support of Gender Equality and Reproductive Rights

Students at Amherst Regional High School and Middle School walked out of their classrooms on December 10 to demand constitutional gender equality. The action coincided with a national day of action to stand in solidarity with organizers in Washington D.C. shutting down Constitution Avenue to demand immediate publication of the Equal Rights Amendment. Amherst students marched on the chilly December day, chanting, “bans off our bodies” and “show me what democracy looks like – this is what democracy looks like. “

Leading the march were Amherst Young Feminist Party organizers Marisol Pierce Bonifaz, Olive Paradis, and Inanna Balkin. The group met on the Amherst Town Common with Fort River students and their parents, and began a brief speaker lineup.

State Representative Domb spoke to the importance of this organizing, the intergenerational movement, and continuing the fight. Dr. Miranda Balkin, Medical Director at Oxbow Primary Care, spoke to the struggles of talking with patients about the bleak future and restricted access to reproductive healthcare. Amrita Das, Amherst Middle School student, wrote a speech read by middle school lead organizer Luna Paradis, stating that we must not give up hope, and of the need to continue to take action. A group of fifth graders at Fort River Elementary School spoke about the importance of certifying the ERA immediately and ensuring a safe community for all, regardless of gender identity or sexuality.

The common message of the day was that as the nation enters an unprecedented time of attack on reproductive freedoms, the next generation will continue to fight, to march, and speak up for a brighter future.