From Art Projects to Walkouts, Berwyn Middle Schoolers Embody Social Justice
On March 6, 2026, 7th and 8th graders from Lincoln Middle School walked out of lunch period to protest the district's response to ICE in the community and came as a string of school walk outs against the deportations in the west suburbs of Chicago. Efrain Soriano/ Cicero Independiente
By Efrain Soriano
Throughout the first year of Donald Trump's second presidency, we are reminded once again that nobody, regardless of race, gender or age, is immune to the effects of bad leadership.
While most adults get to enjoy the liberty of self-determination, the ever-growing population of young people under 18 remain at the direction of adults. However, the youth in Berwyn continue to impress with their acts of resistance and art making that challenge the assumption that they don't understand what's happening in the world.
Over the last months, Berwyn youth at Lincoln Elementary School and Freedom Middle School have organized a walkout in protest of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and led art projects honoring activists of the past, respectively. Cicero Independiente spoke to students, and school staff members to learn more about how young people in Berwyn are embodying the spirit of social justice.
Art and Remembrance
* indicates a name has been changed to protect anonymity.
When asked about her experience discussing racism and other difficult topics with middle school students, *Agustina Solano, a social justice teacher at Freedom Middle School, said "There's so many things I don't have to struggle with in terms of relating those concepts because I feel like a lot of them are kind of already there...I feel like they are automatically within reach of ideas like 'Yes, we help people' not even for any kind of return, just because this shouldn't happen to people."
Solano's 7th and 8th grade social justice classes have been hard at work throughout this school year carrying out long term, student-led art projects that reflect students' values of equity and acceptance. Just a few months ago in October 2025, they wrapped a 105-foot mural project celebrating immigration. Now they've returned with a new collection; Painted and adorned mannequins to honor the activists that have moved the world in a better direction. In celebration of Black History Month and Women’s History Month, students made mannequins representing Assata Shakur, Michelle Obama and Harriet Tubman among many others.
"The main part of the project is the torso because we wanted to show that it was a person. The mannequins gave us more opportunity, more space to show the idea that it was for a person," said Nayeli Matos, an 8th grader at Freedom Middle School who came up with the idea for this art project.
Matos and two of her classmates worked for weeks to decorate their mannequin with symbols and quotes that they felt best represented scholar and activist bell hooks. Matos' work was focused and well researched as she treated a Cicero Independiente reporter to a thorough history of hooks' accomplishments and beliefs. Matos stated that she has really enjoyed her time in this social justice class, as it has shown her different perspectives throughout history. Especially of people who have tried to "fix the world.”
Inspired by Paulo Freire's educational theory, which centers teaching as a collaborative act of liberation, Solano said she allows student input to inform her curriculum. According to Solano, Art is the most sought-after elective at Freedom Middle School. Among her social justice students, the lessons that feature art making are the highest rated according to surveys she conducted.
Nayeli Matos, an 8th grader at Freedom Middle School helped come up with the year-long art project that transcends the canvas and honors the humanity of activists of the past. Efrain Soriano/Cicero Independiente
"When you have students that are not a part of what we consider to be the 'dominant culture', the more that they can see themselves inside of their work the more it matters to them," said Solano. "I think if you give them the space to just be inspired by that work, then you see sort of what can push us forward with their ideas."
Matos said art runs in her family, and her parents are proud that she brought her vision for this project to life. Although she has a different career in mind, she said she hopes to continue to make art for fun and release it into the world to help people “chime in to the idea of the past.”
"Remember the past, and don't let the bad history repeat itself. The people who died and their histories, don't let them have died in vain," said Matos.
Action and Impact
The youth in Berwyn appear to embody both sides of the resistance coin: Faith and Action. Their art of remembrance and honor fills viewers with hope that a better world is possible, and through protest they play their part in creating that better world.
Such was the case on March 6, 2026, when over 150 7th and 8th grade students walked out of Lincoln Middle School in the pouring rain to protest the violence perpetuated by ICE in Berwyn.
Students carried signs and chanted "No more ICE! No more ICE!" as they flooded out the front door of Lincoln onto the sidewalk of 16th Street. They were met by a handful of teachers and administrators who stood on the street to protect the students from oncoming traffic. Cars honked as they passed by the scene. A few drivers stopped and got out of their vehicles with smiles on their faces to record the students. There was a visible sense of pride among the spectators and school staff.
"I was in tears, and it's hard for me to hold back my emotions. This is what school should be about, being able to take a stand for things that matter, right? And the fact that my kids are willing to do that in this political climate says a lot about who they are and what they value. I am so proud," said Dr. Michelle Smith, the superintendent of Berwyn School District 98, which includes Lincoln Middle School.
According to Smith, this walkout was a grassroots effort organized entirely by the 7th and 8th grade students of Lincoln.
Students were motivated to organize this action because of the impact they were seeing at home and in the community of Berwyn. Both Lincoln and Freedom Middle School had reported ICE and Customs and Border Patrol (CBP) activity on and near school grounds during Operation Midway Blitz, according to local rapid response networks who work closely with school staff.
Whether it's art or action, Berwyn middle schoolers are setting an example for the rest of the community. Prompting some adults to consider how they can step up and wield the power they hold to better serve and protect students.
"I think one of the things that we often get wrong is that we think that they don't have a sharp analysis or understanding of what's happening in their lives and what they're seeing happen to their families," said Cynthia Brito, a board member of the D98 Board of Education who was present during the walkout.
Brito said a next step to hear youth's concerns is to ensure that they have a voice, and they have autonomy over how their school is prepping and responding to ICE in their community.
According to Brito, the school board of education for D98 has been developing an advanced plan to respond to ICE violence, which they hope to share with other school districts in the area. The plan includes working alongside already organized community groups like rapid response teams and providing buses for pickup/drop-off beyond what they’re legally required to provide.
“It’s public knowledge that our school district is doing something that others aren’t,” said Smith. “But in terms of things that we’re doing that cost a lot of money, we aren’t. It’s just a matter of taking a stand for what’s morally and ethically right, and that doesn’t have to cost a lot of money.”
To read more about young people protesting, click here.
Efrain Soriano is the Youth and Schools Reporter for Cicero Independiente and a freelance photographer in the local area.
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