Middletown Students Organize June 28 Rally For Social Justice

MIDDLETOWN, NJ — There will be what is called a "Middletown Rally for Social Justice" this Sunday, June 28. The rally is also called "Spread Love, Not Hate" and affiliates with the Black Lives Matter movement.

Attendees will be gathering outside Middletown High School North at 3 p.m. on that date and marching in a loop around the neighborhood.

According to local blogger Middletown Mike, this rally is organized entirely by Middletown public school students and recent graduates of Middletown North and South high schools.

The students will march from High School North to Tindall Road to Park Avenue to East Road and back to the high school. They will be reconvening back in the High School North parking lot at 4:15 p.m. to hear guest speakers. All are welcome and encouraged to attend.

This comes at the same time, nearly 700 (and counting) people have signed this open letter asking Middletown public schools to change its curriculum to teach more about racism and oppression, and Jada Tulloch, the recent valedictorian for Middletown High School North talked publicly — for the first time — about the years of racism she said she endured growing up in Middletown.

Middletown is a predominantly white and conservative community; Middletown Twp. voted for President Trump in the 2016 election and usually votes Republican.

Organizers write on this Facebook page for the event:

"The 'Spread Love Not Hate' mission sparked after the lives of George Floyd and Breonna Taylor were both violently stolen in acts of police brutality. As their families and the public still wait for justice, our goal is to spread awareness and understanding about the existing problems of systemic racism, inequality, and discrimination, which are also a current issue in our town."

"The alumni of Middletown High School North and Middletown High School South are on a mission to broaden the Middletown Township School curriculum to include more diverse learning materials. They are also demanding that all Middletown Township employees who are in leadership positions, education roles, and protect and serve them, be mandated to participate in sensitivity training programs."

The students received a permit from Middletown to hold the rally. Attendees are asked to wear a mask and socially distance.

Related: Hundreds Ask Middletown Schools To Begin 'Anti-Racist' Curriculum (June 19, 2020)

Middletown Valedictorian: I Survived Years Of Race Discrimination (June 11, 2020)