A "Climate Crisis" protest at Wake County high school
Students wearing "Sunrise Movement" apparel staged a walkout at Panther Creek High
On Dec. 19, just over a dozen students at Wake County Public Schools' Panther Creek high school staged a walkout to pressure the school board over the "climate crisis."
The students apparently want the school board to support sustainable "green solutions" in the district's schools.
Panther Creek senior Kriti Pokhrel told WRAL, “Climate change is real. We are tired of being ignored."
“It’s vital for the school board to take action to protect us and protect our future. We have shown up at meetings, sent emails, and nothing," Pokhrel said.
The students were all wearing "Sunrise Movement" shirts.
According to WRAL, the Panther Creek walkout is "part of a nationwide youth-led effort advocating for the Green New Deal for Schools," which is "a proposal aimed at transforming public education by implementing clean energy solutions like electric school buses and LED lights, upgrading infrastructure, and reducing dependence on fossil fuels."
And per the WRAL report, Wake County Board member Sam Hershey praised the students and wants to see things like solar panels on schools. Meanwhile, the district is in a $7.5M self-inflicted budget hole and in the last six months has had trouble keeping air conditioning and heat on in various schools across the county.
More To The Story
Student activism in Wake County is not new. Over the last decade, students involved with activist groups in the district have organized walkouts and protests in connection with "March for Our Lives," school versions of "Defund the Police," and the "School-to-prison pipeline."
What is new is a protest over the so-called "Climate Crisis," and an affiliation with the Sunrise Movement (SM), which is a dark money funded group with direct links to the Sierra Club.
SM is about as far left on the political spectrum as one can go and ties every topic it can back to climate change.
For example, SM's most recent piece of news on its website glorifies the man who murdered UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson while also using the murder to fundraise for their cause.
SM's news also talks about getting the vote out for Vice President Kamala Harris and boasts about recruiting young voters in swing states to her ticket in record numbers, yet in reality, President-Elect Donald Trump garnered more of the Gen Z vote than Harris and increased his share of the Millenial vote this cycle.
SM has allied itself in recent years with Black Lives Matter, Defund the Police, and most recently, anti-Israel and anti-zionist groups.
Unsurprisingly, SM is the group behind the Green New Deal and has been recruiting and training K-12 students for a while now.
SM is very well funded through both its 501(c)4 dark money arm as well as its 501(c)3 "Education Fund." The most recent IRS filing available for both groups is 2022.
Sunrise Movement (2017) - EIN: 82-1232167
2022's filing shows gross receipts of $3,227,439 but a net income of -$354,719. Expenses came in at $3,582,158 and the net assets were listed at $3,356,911.
Sunrise Movement Education Fund (2014) - EIN: 46-4773036
2022's filing shows gross receipts of $5,095,621 and expenses of $8,949,760 along with net assets $13,019,068. That filing also shows they overspent, with a net income of -$3,854,139.
For a rundown on this group's activities and funding, Capitol Research Center's Influence Watch website has a useful profile for the Sunrise Movement.