WILSON, N.C. — As thousands of students at schools across the country left class to remember victims of last month’s deadly school shooting in Parkland, Florida, a 16-year-old student was his school’s lone activist.
Out of about 700 students at Wilson Preparatory Academy, Justin Blackman was the only one to leave class and go outside for 17 minutes to remember the lives lost at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, CNN reported.
When it was time, he told his teacher what he was doing and he was allowed to leave class.
He had asked other students if they were planning to participate in the national school walkout, but many told him they didn’t know about the remembrance.
[ >> School walkouts: What are student’s rights? ]
Blackman was disappointed that he was alone, standing outside his school for 17 minutes. He posted a video on Twitter showing that no one else walked out with him.
The 16-year-old returned to class, and while he was hoping not to get in trouble with school officials, he actually received accolades for standing up for something he believed in, CNN reported.
[ >> Students, parents, teachers encourage each other to ‘Walk Up Not Out’ ]
And while he was alone in the school’s parking lot, he was not alone on social media where supporters sent him messages supporting his decision to walk out.
There were other students who were the the lone walkouts at other schools in the nation.
Leonardo Aguilar is only in second grade, and his class didn't participate as a group, but he joined students who are much older than him at a nearby high school in San Jose, California, to lend his small voice in a big way, KPIX reported.