The author of this op-ed remains anonymous to protect them from threats and harassment. The author graduated in 2023 from Jackson-Reed High School in Washington, DC, where they were a member and co-leader of the Arab Student Union. The author is now a freshman at a public university.
If someone had told me at the beginning of my senior year of high school that I would sue my school for censorship, I wouldn’t have believed them. I was ready to spend my last year hanging out with friends, making art, and finishing up schoolwork. But as my senior year was getting started in 2023, the Palestinian people of Gaza began to experience the latest devastating onslaught on their lives, homes, and culture. And my friends and I couldn’t turn away.
I was a member of the Arab Student Union at Jackson-Reed High School, a public school in Washington, DC. Our club had been a space to share our cultures and perspectives with one another and the school community. Like other student clubs, we met at lunch and sometimes hosted school-wide events and activities.
After Israel retaliated for Hamas’s October 7 attack by launching a siege on Gaza, Palestine was all we talked about at our club meetings. At the same time, I noticed an unusual silence about Gaza in our classrooms. In classes like social studies, I felt like we normally discussed current affairs, and had even discussed Palestine and Israel before. But this time it seemed teachers and administrators were actively avoiding even mentioning Gaza.
This kind of silence felt uncommon to me at Jackson-Reed, a school that prides itself on cultivating “active citizenship” among its students. After Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022, I remember us having active conversations in our classes about that conflict.
Our Arab Student Union decided it was up to us to start the conversation. We planned to screen the documentary The Occupation of the American Mind split between two lunch-hour club meetings. As we say in our lawsuit, two of the film’s central claims are that “the Israeli government has engaged in a successful but misleading public relations campaign in the US” and that people are attacked as “antisemitic” or “terrorists” for speaking up about Palestine. We put posters up around the school, and we prepared to start this important dialogue.
In our complaint, we detail what happened next: A parent visiting the school removed a poster and complained to the administration. The principal then canceled the film screening and set up the first of many barriers to pro-Palestinian activism that the Arab Student Union would have to fight for months. Unlike any other club, as far as I know, suddenly we had to get permission from the school administration before showing any film related to Israel and Palestine.
We were surprised, but nonetheless submitted four alternative films to watch, only to not get a final answer about any of them, as we state in our lawsuit. We were disappointed and confused about why the school wouldn’t let us discuss something many of us found so devastating. Ultimately, we became convinced that it wasn’t a problem with any specific movie, but with the subject of Palestine.
For months we tried to raise awareness and spark conversation about Palestine, but Jackson-Reed's administration blocked us from doing so. They canceled our Palestinian culture night, censored Palestinian cultural symbols from literature we planned to hand out, and prevented us from distributing certain pro-Palestinian stickers. Unlike other clubs, to my knowledge, we had to meet with administrators for multiple Palestine-related events we had planned. Even something as simple as an info table at lunch required meeting with the administration to review every detail.
Those days were exhausting. We felt like the powerful people who were supposed to help us learn and grow were the very people violating our most fundamental right to free expression. It was also intimidating to keep challenging our principal in front of everyone in our school community. Often I worried that students, teachers, and administrators were judging me and my friends for overdoing it.
But we felt confident that the administration was treating us and our activities differently than how it treated other clubs and activities — and that the administration was wrong. We were also moved by the fact that while we were safe in DC, Palestinians were losing their lives, loved ones, and homes in Gaza. And we were in it together — with each other, with our club sponsor, our families, and our communities.
The school administration agreed to let us host a heavily revised version of our Palestinian Culture Night. The joy of that celebration was so full, it’s almost impossible to describe. It was beautiful. The early evening light filtered into the school’s atrium; people read poetry; there was dancing, singing, and art; and our whole community of supporters came together to celebrate Palestinian culture.
Still, we felt more action was necessary. After months of pushing, we connected with the American Civil Liberties Union of the District of Columbia. The civil rights and liberties lawyers there agreed with our conclusion that the school was violating our rights under the First Amendment, Equal Access Act, and the DC Student Bill of Rights. The ACLU-DC believed, as we allege in our complaint, that our public school was censoring us because they did not like our point of view.
Represented by the ACLU-DC, we sued DC and Jackson-Reed’s principal. Our lawsuit to protect the rights of DC students is still ongoing today, with settlement negotiations continuing; but just two weeks after we filed our lawsuit, we reached a legal agreement with the city. The principal finally allowed us to host a movie screening, and we also agreed on a final form of our club’s planned handouts.
After the school year came to a close, I realized how exhausted I was from the constant hurdles, the constant fighting, and the constant undercurrent of worry I felt about being judged by people I knew and being harassed by people I didn’t. I’m writing this anonymously, and members of the Arab Student Union sued the school anonymously, because of the very legitimate fear of being targeted for our pro-Palestinian views.
Almost one year on, though, I can say the exhaustion and fear has been worth it. Our First Amendment right to express ourselves and advocate for change is the foundation all of our other rights — including the right to vote — are built on. And these rights don’t disappear when you enter your public school. Fighting for this fundamental right and supporting the Palestinian people continue to fill my body and spirit with deep meaning.
As the school year ramps up, a new presidential administration prepares to take power, and the onslaught in Gaza continues. You might, like me, find yourself in a situation you cannot turn away from. If you have to fight for your rights, I can offer you three lessons from my own experience:
First, remember that you are fighting for what you believe in. By exercising and defending your right to free speech, you are setting a precedent that can help other people in the future speak up as well. If your public school tries to block you from expressing your views and advocating for change, know that you have rights and you can exercise those rights. The First Amendment prohibits public schools from censoring or discriminating against speech based on point of view.
Next, make sure you are part of a community of people who will struggle together, lift up one another, and celebrate the joys of winning and persevering collectively. This community can include friends, family, students, teachers, supporters of all ages and backgrounds, and even lawyers and advocates.
Finally, stay focused on your goal. When I worried about people judging or possibly even harassing me, I would also consider how, in the long run, those worries would not matter. But supporting what I believe in will always matter. Now in my freshman year of college, I can say that this perspective has kept me going. As I continue to support our lawsuit from my new campus, I am energized, motivated, and comforted every day by the knowledge that our club fought for our rights and supported the lives and dignity of the Palestinian people.
Editor's note: In an email to Teen Vogue, the press secretary for DC Public Schools said, “DC Public Schools remains committed to fostering environments where all students and staff feel a sense of belonging to engage in diverse and respectful learning experiences free from discrimination." Jackson-Reed administrators did not respond to a request for comment.
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