As the nation continues to deal with re-opened wounds tied to poor race relations, Ohio University students took to the streets to show support for the people of Ferguson, Missouri.
A couple hundred people, mostly OU students, gathered on College Green for the “#HandsUpWalkOut” protest against the August police killing of unarmed teenager Michael Brown.
“I am here today to show solidarity,” said Kaleb Carter, a junior studying journalism. “For me, not enough people understand that racist police tactics are used.”
That sentiment was a recurring theme several students said mattered to them.
“I am here to bring awareness and march to save lives,” Sarah Grote, a junior studying outdoor recreation administration, said. “Sexism, racism and homophobia kills. I will not stand for oppression.”
Chants included “Brick by brick, wall by wall, we will make the system fall.”
“No justice, no peace.”
“The people united will never be defeated.”
“I am Mike Brown.”
The protest was organized by four members of OU Student Senate, as many members of this administration have been highly active in protests around campus. Olivia Wallace, Ryant Taylor, Kelli Oliver and Jasmine Renee-Riley organized the event.
Olivia Wallace, senate’s environmental affairs commissioner, helped lead the protest. Standing at the Civil War Monument near College Green, Wallace began by saying at the start of the demonstration: “Take a moment to collect yourself. Look around you, look at all the faces. This is a community that has a voice in this national issue.”
The protest was for Mike Brown, Trayvon Martin, John Crawford and all those who have been assaulted by the police, Wallace said.
Ohio University’s protest was one out of 77 that took place Wednesday across the nation, Wallace said.
“As we march, people will stare and wonder what we are doing. (We) tell them why we are marching and invite them to join us,” she said. Wallace is a former Post employee.
Lawrence Greene, an Athens resident for over 20 years, said he has not “seen change.”
“Two hundred years ago people came across the Ohio River for freedom,” Greene said. “People say this is a post-racial society we live in. It is not a post-racial society.”
“The message is that we (people of color) are violent. This is really important that we keep talking,” Ryant Taylor, Senate’s LGTBQA affairs commissioner, said. He went to Ferguson earlier this month.
Taylor said he blames the media and what he called a lack of conversation for this violent stereotype.
From the Civil War Monument, the march headed down Court Street, stopping traffic. The parade of protesters continued through East Washington Street, ultimately ending up inside of Baker University Center.
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After emerging from Baker, the leaders of the protest invited speakers from the group to come forward and voice their opinions. Officers from Ohio University Police Department were present outside the top Baker.
The protest went back to the Civil War Monument and people continued to be encouraged to speak up.
“As being a white male, I have privileges,” Graduate Student Senate President Carl Edward Smith III said. “My whiteness and my maleness have extended a privilege to a majority. It makes me feel great to see people fight for change.”
Liana Carsner, a junior studying Special Education and Spanish, said she cut class in order to go to the event.
“I will not teach my students that the best way to alive and stay out of jail is to be white,” she said. “I will not teach the next John Crawford. Black lives matter.”
@MEGANKHENRY
MH573113@ohio.edu
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