Following the tragic murder of George Floyd, a black man who died after a white police officer Derek Chauvin knelt on his neck for over 8 minutes in Minneapolis, riots over race and inequality erupted throughout the United States in all 50 states.

This terrible event has ignited a blazing fire in the black community, amplifying the message they have being trying to share for decades, that equality should be recognized by all.

Social media has been a platform for people to share their opinions. And more importantly, for people to listen. On Black Out Tuesday, Jun. 2, millions of people on social media posted images of a black squares to symbolize their solidarity with the Black Lives Matter Movement.

So where does this leave Abington?

Recognizing the importance of this issue and wanting black voices in the community to be heard, Abington Public School administration  Superintendent Peter Schafer and Dr. Teresa Sullivan, as well as high school English teacher Erin Slayton, and senior Cameron Curney were panel members on a Virtual Town Hall Meeting on race, moderated by the head of the social studies department Jason Scott.

The objective of the meeting was “To give community members a space to ask question and share thoughts and concerns regarding the events surrounding the tragic death of George Floyd,” according to the Abington Public Schools website. 

In the meeting, Ms. Slayton vocalized her ideas for educating the community on Black culture and how to deal with racism. She also informed viewers of a charity she founded to give young black artists opportunities to show their work and talent. If you’d like to donate to this cause, check out Ms. Slayton’s Twitter link.

A large portion of the meeting was discussing how public schools throughout the nation, state, and town currently talk about race and how they should be talking about race in order to educate students.