Providence students celebrate PVD City Council Resolution endorsing Ethnic Studies Bill

“We want the opportunity to be able to learn more about each other’s cultures and lift them up," said Jesslynn Melendez, a former student at Central High School and a youth leader with OurSchoolsPVD.

The Providence City Council voted unanimously to approve a resolution endorsing and urging passage of OurSchoolsPVD’s Ethnic Studies Bill (H5836). Here’s the video.

From a press release:

The bill, currently in the Rhode Island House of Representatives, was written in partnership with Rhode Island high school students and introduced by Representative David Morales. The Ethnic Studies Bill incorporates most of the demands of the youth-led “Our History, Our Schools, Our Future” campaign and “would require every high school to offer a yearlong ‘ethnic studies’ course studying Rhode Island and American history and the experiences of racialized communities in Rhode Island and the United States. This act would also direct the establishment of an ethnic studies leadership council to oversee the implementation of the requirements of this section.”

“I’m so appreciative of the unwavering support the Providence City Council showed when voting to unanimously pass this resolution!” said Marcel Anderson, an 11th grader at The Met High School in Providence and a youth leader with Youth in Action. “They are rooting for the youth leaders of our campaign and all of the young people in this fight for Ethnic Studies.”

The bill would create a yearlong course studying the experiences of communities of color in Rhode Island and the United States and establish a student-led council to support curriculum development and implementation.

“Introducing this bill is a huge milestone for our community,” said Jesslynn Melendez, a former student at Central High School and a youth leader with OurSchoolsPVD. “We want the opportunity to be able to learn more about each other’s cultures and lift them up. Having this bill passed would mean so much for the future of education and how people view each other as a whole.”

The City Council resolution will be sent to Governor Daniel McKee, Speaker of the Rhode Island House of Representatives K. Joseph Shekarchi, President of the Rhode Island Senate Dominick Ruggierio, Representative David Morales, and the Providence delegation.

Providence City Council President Pro Tempore Juan Pichardo will join OurSchoolsPVD youth leaders for a press conference on Wednesday, April 9, at 4 p.m., in the library on the second floor of the Rhode Island State House, in support of the Ethnic Studies Bill.

For more information about OurSchoolsPVD, visit @OurSchoolsPVD on Instagram. To support OurSchoolsPVD’s Ethnic Studies Bill, add your name here.

For more, see:

• The "Students Ignite Change: Shaping Our Schools Candidate Forum" focused on real policy issues

• Providence youth react to Mayor Smiley’s Community Conversation on Education

• Providence Student Union launches #OurHistoryMatters campaign

• Students envision a "youth-led future" for Providence Public Schools

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About OurSchoolsPVD: OurSchoolsPVD is an alliance of youth-led organizations and community allies organizing for education justice in Providence Public Schools. We came together in 2019 after the state took control of Providence Public Schools to ensure that those most impacted by what happens in our education system have a voice in decision-making. OurSchoolsPVD builds power to transform Providence Public Schools and advance Democracy, Dollars, and Dignity for all youth and families.

OurSchoolsPVD includes the Alliance of Rhode Island Southeast Asians for Education (ARISE), Providence Student Union (PSU), Providence Youth Student Movement (PrYSM), Youth In Action, Young Voices, Parents Leading for Educational Equity (PLEE), Rhode Island Center for Justice, and the Center for Youth and Community Leadership in Education (CYCLE).