The loss of two DPS students: our grief, outrage, and our shared accountability

We are deeply saddened and outraged by the loss of two DPS students who were killed by gun violence on Tuesday night. 

We are holding their families in our hearts, along with the school communities of Riverside High School, Brogden Middle School, and Lakeview School and the other two students who were tragically involved in this incident. 

We call on the entire Durham community–every parent, every neighbor, every leader–to join us in grief, in outrage, and in accountability. 

These are our kids. Whether you played sports with them, had a class with them, went to church with their family, shared a moment in the grocery store or waiting for the stoplight to change–this is our community, these are our neighbors, and we are accountable to one another. 

What must we do now? What must we do to make mental health a top priority in our schools, to urge action from lawmakers addressing gun safety and gun restrictions, to demand that the state legislature fully fund schools and support services, and to robustly implement the practices that can prevent this kind of violence in our community?

If we believe in Durham, in our shared past and future, then we must believe in our shared accountability to one another.  

In the aftermath of experiencing gun violence in their own school community, Hillside High School students recently organized as DPS Students for Mental Health. Those students shared these powerful words with WRAL regarding the recent increase in student deaths:

"We are a class of regular high school students that experienced the shooting near Hillside and Durham School of Technology on Feb. 8th, and the multiple lockdowns that followed… This made our mental health even worse than it was before. As a class, we decided we want to make a change for not only our generation but also the upcoming generation of scholars. We are done sitting on the sidelines asking for help," they stated. "And our feelings are being pushed aside and just pushed under a rug. We are tired of our words being twisted, we are tired of being stressed, and we are tired of constantly being told to speak up, speak out and use our voice but nothing is happening."

The group completed a survey of students and community members, hearing from 650 people so far, with "95% of the people [saying] we need more mental health days and more mental health resources in our DPS high schools."

We are in conversation with our students, educators, families, school and district administrators and community partners around what next steps look like. Our WHOLE Schools team will continue to work with schools to address urgent mental health needs that youth everywhere are facing, including right here in Durham. 

As we identify actions that everyone can be a part of, we’ll be sharing those with you. Be looking out for more in April. 

This is a time to pour care and resources into our community, a time to grieve together and to recommit ourselves to one another, our shared responsibility and our shared future.