2,000 Seattle Teachers Wear 'Black Lives Matter' Shirts to Class

About 2,000 Seattle educators wore Black Lives Matter shirts at their schools Wednesday to call for racial equity in education, reports the Seattle Times .

Schools across the district held "Black Lives Matter at School" rallies before classes began for the day. Students, parents, and teachers also wore stickers and buttons emblazoned with the "Black Lives Matter" slogan.

The purpose of the day was to affirm that "black lives matter in the public schools," according to organizers, who are members of Social Equality Educators, a group of educators within the Seattle teachers union. Teachers also wanted to show their support for John Muir Elementary, which had its "Black Men Uniting to Change the Narrative" event canceled last month after receiving a threat over teachers' plans to wear Black Lives Matter shirts.

Before school started Wednesday at Chief Sealth International High School, dozens of educators and students gathered outside the building and held up banners and signs.

"Black Lives Matter At School" wasn't sponsored by the school district, but it coincides with Seattle Public Schools' "day of unity," aimed at bringing more attention to racial equity in education. As a public institution, the district doesn't take official positions on social or political movements, district spokesman Luke Duecy said in a statement earlier this week.