Members of the New BLAC held vigil for deceased victims of police brutality
Ohio University students gathered Monday on College Green with candles in hand to honor the lives of those lost to police brutality over the past 60 years.
The candlelight vigil was held on the side of Templeton-Blackburn Alumni Memorial Auditorium, where earlier in the day students placed about 100 cardboard tombstones in the snow in preparation for the vigil.
The New Black Life Action Coalition, or New BLAC, organized the event, which was attended by nearly 40 people.
“It’s important to have something visual like this,” said Olivia Busby, a sophomore studying integrated media, who attended the vigil. “It’s easy for you to forget and (the vigil is) a good reminder.”
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Names of individuals who were killed as a result of police brutality — such as Trayvon Martin, Eric Garner and Tamir Rice — adorned the cardboard tombstones.
Martin, a 17-year-old male from Florida, was fatally shot in February 2012 by neighborhood watch volunteer, George Zimmerman. Both Garner, a 43-year-old male from New York City, and Tamir Rice, a 12-year-old boy from Cleveland, were killed in 2014.
New BLAC members also hung banners on MemAud’s railings, including one stating that police kill a person of color every 28 hours.
“I’m glad people are speaking out,” said Mailé Orr, a freshman studying theater, who attended the vigil. “I’m happy people are raising awareness, but more concrete things need to happen.”
Speeches, songs and poems were given at the vigil, including one of an unarmed 34-year-old man who was shot Sunday by police in Baltimore, Maryland, according to WBAL-TV.
“I already hated the day, but then I woke up and saw this happen and I knew this vigil was the right thing to do,” said Kelli Oliver, a senior studying commercial photography, and a member of New BLAC.
The Baltimore man has since undergone surgery and the case is under investigation by local police.
The crowd was solemn as students read poems, sung songs and told personal stories about their own experiences with discrimination.
“We need to start conversations on racism in America by tackling every corner of the nation,” Busby said.
The debate over whether law enforcement officials should wear body cameras, which has been widely covered in the media, is one such conversation.
“Cameras and new training should happen, we just need an entire systematic change,” Oliver said.
Cold weather conditions caused the vigil to end after about 40 minutes.
New BLAC will hold a summit Wednesday at 7 p.m. in Grover W115 to further speak about the topics discussed at the vigil.
“The vigil and graveyard are ways in which students are able to express themselves, and a way for people to say what they need to say,” Busby said.
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