Social Justice Activism in Des Moines

Over the past couple of years in the Des Moines Metro, groups like BLM, CORE, JEDI Council and WTF have been fighting for racial equity throughout the area by hosting walkouts, educating students and more. 

Groups and positions have been created throughout communities, businesses and schools in the metro. Within Waukee, there is a Director of Equity position, held by Lindsey Law. During the 2020-2021 school year, many current sophomores were involved in the Community of Racial Equity (CORE) at Prarieview, advised by Mrs. House. When Northwest opened, the Black Student Union (BSU) was also created by a group of students, advised by Dr. Farrell. Recently, a group known as the Justice, Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion Council (JEDI Council) has also been created by leaders of other social justice clubs. JEDI Council is advised by Mrs. Fairbanks.  Throughout the past few months, a group called Iowa WTF has also been formed. WTF is a coalition of high school students throughout the metro area. “[We are] dedicated to mobilizing Iowa youth against discriminatory legislation,” reads WTF’s Instagram bio.

“When we started CORE, [it was] right after covid, and all of the racial injustices happened in the US. I was really hoping to create a group at school that would be similar to the BSU at Waukee since we didn’t have anything like that at Prarieview, where we could just talk about racial justice and educate people,” stated Olivia Oriho, a sophomore at Northwest, and past participant in CORE. She explained that CORE started very small with only three students brought together by Mrs. House. As the year continued, the group expanded and continued to learn more about racial discussions. They read books as a group and used those teachings to plan lessons for advisory and talk to teachers about facilitating racial discussions. 

Paige Olson and Abby Elsbernd, also sophomores at Northwest were a part of the club. “I feel like the difference between CORE and BSU is that CORE really works on the education side of it, which BSU does a lot of too. But the title is more all-encompassing of any race or ethnicity whereas BSU, also in the title is more for a select group,” explained Elsbernd. Olson explained how her attempt to create a CORE group at Northwest was brought to a halt due to complications including finding an advisor, planning and presenting lessons and activities, as well as a space among the many social justice and diverse groups at the school; including, BSU, JEDI Council and the International Club. Oriho agreed with the differences in BSU and CORE’s purposes. She said, “BSU is more race-specific, [we] focus on black issues, and talk more about action than education.”

BSU has planned many different activities to get students involved and aware. One of their biggest events was a movie night held in February. They consistently meet Monday mornings and encourage everyone to come and participate. To find out more about what BSU is doing, they often post information and updates on

their Instagram, @nw.bsu.  Recently, BSU initiated a protest at Northwest in support of a state-wide protest organized by a new coalition called Iowa WTF. Throughout the metro area Ames, Ankeny, Johnston and multiple other schools participated in the protest. An Iowa WTF member, Jemma Bullock, a junior at Ankeny High School, described the group’s mission statement. She stated, “[We are] dedicated to amplifying the student and youth voice and making sure that people in power listen to us since we are being pushed aside. We believe that Iowa youth and youth all around the world [are not] being taken seriously, especially when it comes to political issues. Some of our goals are not just getting our voice out there, but making sure that we have an impact.” They have begun meetings. Their primary source of communication is their Instagram account, and they encourage students who want to get involved to reach out through direct messages to get more information.