The wind, strong and steady, mirrored the unwavering spirit of the Minneapolis high school activists gathered at Gold Medal Park yesterday afternoon.
Last Wednesday, Aug. 27, Annunciation Catholic Academy fell victim to a school shooting, leaving two children dead and 17 injured. Feelings of sorrow and deep anger filled Minneapolis high schools, leading to WeAreTiredMN organizing this walkout.
Solveigh Bratulich, a senior from DeLaSalle High School and co-leader of WeAreTiredMN, said, “This incident just hit a lot closer to home with the Annunciation School community being so close to our school. There was a lot of restlessness. Now that this keeps happening and now that we’ve experienced this closer to ourselves and our community. [We wondered] what can we actually do about it.”
The walkout began with students and community members convening at the top of the hill at Gold Medal Park, forming a sea of red shirts, caps, and signs. Bratulich and fellow co-leader Julia Jackson, who is also a senior at DeLaSalle, opened with a speech before handing the mic off to three student speakers.
Although the speeches differed from speaker to speaker, two themes were common throughout: heartbreak and the need for change instead of empty thoughts and prayers. One speaker said, “Were the government officers elected because people believed that they can think the best? Did people elect Governor Walz, President Trump, our mayor Jacob Frey because they could pray better than all the other candidates? Did we?” A firm “No,” resounded throughout the group.
Kennedy High School senior Samia Mohamud, who is one of the speakers, was a selected speaker at the capitol rally on Sunday. She was in her PSEO class when the shooting happened. Later, Mohamud reached out to WeAreTiredMN, asking to speak at this walkout. She said, “I’m disgusted. I’m outraged.” Mohamud is organizing another walkout with peers that is planned for tomorrow at her school.
After all speakers addressed the crowd, a Minneapolis community member held out his own speaker and played a recording of Martin Luther King Jr.’s famous “We Shall Overcome” speech. Students and other participants sat in silence, many holding their heads down.
Following the speeches, the group made their way down the hill and onto the sidewalks of downtown Minneapolis. Holding up their hand-drawn signs. They paraded toward the Hennepin County Government Center.
A couple, Karen and Peter, joined the students on their walk. Peter was involved in the response efforts for the Sandy Hook shooting. He said, “This is not acceptable. We need to ban assault weapons and it breaks my heart […] when I hear about the older children pushing the younger children down and protecting them with their bodies. They shouldn’t need to know how to do that. I’m glad to support [the students] so no one has to protect another kid.”
A student at the front held a megaphone and led chants such as “Hey, hey, NRA, how many kids have you killed today?,” “Protect our future,” and “Silence is violence.” Their loud and firm voices turned the heads of every bystander and restaurant goer in their path; the group even received honks from nearby drivers– a sign of solidarity and encouragement.
Bratulich and Jackson, fueled by emotion, organized this event in a matter of days. “We didn’t honestly really know what we were doing, so we were kind of just hopeful that people felt the same way as us,” Bratulich said. Jackson said, “We had trust in our community to show up.”
Moving forward, WeAreTiredMN looks to expand their team to drive further change.
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This story was originally published on The Rubicon on September 4, 2025.