VIDEO: Black Lives Matter Speech by Rye High Alum Zachary Gaouad (RHS ’19)

About 1,000 of your neighbors participated in a Black Lives Matter protest and march on Saturday, June 13th.

The peaceful group gathered at Rye High School at 2pm and then marched to the village green for speeches from local officials and activists. The group then resumed its march, winding around Rye before ending back at the high school.

Here is the speech of Rye High Alum Zachary Gaouad (RHS ’19). Gaouad is the author of an online petition calling for “racial awareness and diversity within the Rye High School student body and faculty” that had over 8,000 signatures as of Monday afternoon.

“I’ve been really disappointed by Dr. Bryne’s response especially and I call on him to acknowledge that black lives matter,” Gaouad said in his opening comments. “The fact that Rye cannot say that really speaks to my experience in Rye because so many of my peers were implicitly racist and they did not realize that and the fact that their own school cannot say that black lives matter is truly, truly sickening.”

The Rye School District and Rye Schools Superintendent Eric Byrne released a statement on race and equality to MyRye.com Monday afternoon. A school spokesperson said it is expected Bryne will further address the issue at the school board meeting Tuesday night.

Gaouad continued by reading his letter (see printed version here).

You can watch the video (in two parts).

First video (run time 17:38):

Second video (run time 1:29):