Qualla: 2022 Huntington High School Walkouts

2022 Huntington High School Walkouts: Introduction

Sun, 31 May 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Samuel Felinton asked to leave. He was a Jewish student at Huntington High School in West Virginia, and on February 2, 2022, his school had brought the entire student body into a Christian revival assembly held during regular instructional hours. The assembly featured religious messaging and prayer. Felinton requested to step out. He was not permitted to do so. A week later he stood with two classmates, Max Nibert and Cameron Mays, leading hundreds of Huntington High students out of the building in coordinated walkouts that drew national press coverage and eventually a federal lawsuit. The Establishment Clause of the First Amendment, abstract in most American classrooms, had become very concrete in this one.

2022 Huntington High School Walkouts: What Happened on February 2

Sun, 31 May 2026 00:00:00 GMT

A Christian revival assembly was held at Huntington High School during instructional hours on February 2, 2022. Some students reported they had been misled about whether attendance was voluntary. The event featured evangelical religious messaging and prayer, and students were att...

2022 Huntington High School Walkouts: The Walkouts

Sun, 31 May 2026 00:00:00 GMT

On February 9, 2022, Max Nibert, Cameron Mays, and Samuel Felinton led hundreds of Huntington High students out of the building. The walkouts continued over several school days, with students gathering outside the school holding signs and chanting slogans about religious freedom ...

2022 Huntington High School Walkouts: The Response and the Lawsuit

Sun, 31 May 2026 00:00:00 GMT

School district officials initially stated that participation in the religious assembly had been voluntary and that policies were being reviewed. Civil liberties organizations including the Freedom from Religion Foundation argued otherwise. By late February, eleven families had f...

2022 Huntington High School Walkouts: Why It Mattered Nationally

Sun, 31 May 2026 00:00:00 GMT

The walkouts drew coverage from CNN, the Jerusalem Post, West Virginia Public Broadcasting, the Cleveland Jewish News, and a wide range of national outlets. The incident became a frequently cited example in discussions of student activism and Establishment Clause issues in Americ...

2022 Huntington High School Walkouts: Huntington and Its High School

Sun, 31 May 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Huntington High School sits in the southwestern corner of Huntington, West Virginia, in Cabell County. The school district serves a city of roughly 45,000 people on the Ohio River, with Marshall University downtown. The community is diverse in its own way - Appalachian working-cl...