Many Wellesley Middle School students are expected to don red clothing on Thursday, May 22, in conjunction with the Bring Our Girls Back campaign that will be happening around the world. The campaign is in support of roughly 300 Nigerian schoolgirls abducted last month by armed terrorists who believe (among other things) that girls should not be educated.
A WMS 8th grader (who wishes to remain anonymous) started the campaign at the school by working with the principal, staff, and students. After watching the Girl Rising documentary last year, she learned that educating girls can break cycles of poverty in one generation. Since human and civil rights are among the core issues studied in middle school, she felt it made sense that WMS should join the campaign. While marches and letter signing events will be held everywhere from Tokyo to Mumbai and from Moscow to Nairobi, many schools around the world have chosen to simply wear red in solidarity and to promote awareness of the right to education for all, including girls, as a universal human right.
Dana Hall students in Wellesley did likewise earlier this month.