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Members of the San Jose State University Black Student Union stood in solidarity with Mizzou on Wednesday.
(@sjsubsu/Twitter)
With Demands for Racial Justice, Student 'BlackOut' Actions Sweep US
"We're here. We've been here. We ain't leaving. We are loved," chanted Princeton University students on Wednesday
Nov 18, 2015
Students at colleges and universities from coast to coast walked out of class, held rallies and teach-ins, and protested on Wednesday as part of a coordinated national day of action demanding racial justice both on- and off-campus.
The actions were both inspired by and in solidarity with recent protests at the University of Missouri and other institutions.
"We hope that Black students organize and participate in actions that really challenge white supremacy and anti-blackness on their campuses," University of Connecticut student Yamiesha Bellan, an organizer of the #StudentBlackOut mobilization, told NBC News. "Every school is [unique] and has different needs and wants; however, we know oppression takes place at every institution in this country and white supremacy is embedded all through higher education."
Demands from almost two dozen schools were collected on one website by Twitter user @samswey, an activist with Campaign Zero, which seeks to combat police violence and reform the criminal justice system. Calls ranged from greater access to higher education for Black and Indigenous communities to a public acknowledgment of deep-seated racism in the top echelons of school administrations.
At the time of publication dozens of protesters were occupying the office of the Princeton University president demanding a transformation of the school's racist legacy.
"We're here. We've been here. We ain't leaving. We are loved," they chanted as they staged their direct action.
Meanwhile, students at Stanford University publicly recited the words of exiled black liberation activist Assata Shakur:
At Tufts University, where a small percentage of students are African American, protesters are using the hashtag #thethreepercent to highlight their mobilization.
\u201cUniting as #TheThreePercent, we will have our voices heard. To Mizzou, Yale, and institutions all over, we hear you.\u201d— muna m (@muna m) 1447876950
Students at the University of Cincinnati are demanding justice for Samuel Dubose, an unarmed black man shot and killed by police.
\u201c"If you are silent about your pain, they will kill you and say you enjoyed it."\nZora Neale Hurston #StudentBlackOut\u201d— Alexander Shelton (@Alexander Shelton) 1447867140
And the movement crossed national borders as students in Ottawa joined in the mass mobilization:
#StudentBlackOut at uOttawa. We stand in solidarity with students at Yale and Mizzou pic.twitter.com/rLHbqPNtNx
-- nima/eartha kitt (@somaliforehead)
November 18, 2015
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Deirdre Fulton
Deirdre Fulton is a former Common Dreams senior editor and staff writer. Previously she worked as an editor and writer for the Portland Phoenix and the Boston Phoenix, where she was honored by the New England Press Association and the Association of Alternative Newsweeklies. A Boston University graduate, Deirdre is a co-founder of the Maine-based Lorem Ipsum Theater Collective and the PortFringe theater festival. She writes young adult fiction in her spare time.
Sarah Lazare
Sarah Lazare is web editor at In These Times. She is a former Staff Writer at Common Dreams. She comes from a background in independent journalism for publications including The Intercept, The Nation, and Tom Dispatch.
Students at colleges and universities from coast to coast walked out of class, held rallies and teach-ins, and protested on Wednesday as part of a coordinated national day of action demanding racial justice both on- and off-campus.
The actions were both inspired by and in solidarity with recent protests at the University of Missouri and other institutions.
"We hope that Black students organize and participate in actions that really challenge white supremacy and anti-blackness on their campuses," University of Connecticut student Yamiesha Bellan, an organizer of the #StudentBlackOut mobilization, told NBC News. "Every school is [unique] and has different needs and wants; however, we know oppression takes place at every institution in this country and white supremacy is embedded all through higher education."
Demands from almost two dozen schools were collected on one website by Twitter user @samswey, an activist with Campaign Zero, which seeks to combat police violence and reform the criminal justice system. Calls ranged from greater access to higher education for Black and Indigenous communities to a public acknowledgment of deep-seated racism in the top echelons of school administrations.
At the time of publication dozens of protesters were occupying the office of the Princeton University president demanding a transformation of the school's racist legacy.
"We're here. We've been here. We ain't leaving. We are loved," they chanted as they staged their direct action.
Meanwhile, students at Stanford University publicly recited the words of exiled black liberation activist Assata Shakur:
At Tufts University, where a small percentage of students are African American, protesters are using the hashtag #thethreepercent to highlight their mobilization.
\u201cUniting as #TheThreePercent, we will have our voices heard. To Mizzou, Yale, and institutions all over, we hear you.\u201d— muna m (@muna m) 1447876950
Students at the University of Cincinnati are demanding justice for Samuel Dubose, an unarmed black man shot and killed by police.
\u201c"If you are silent about your pain, they will kill you and say you enjoyed it."\nZora Neale Hurston #StudentBlackOut\u201d— Alexander Shelton (@Alexander Shelton) 1447867140
And the movement crossed national borders as students in Ottawa joined in the mass mobilization:
#StudentBlackOut at uOttawa. We stand in solidarity with students at Yale and Mizzou pic.twitter.com/rLHbqPNtNx
-- nima/eartha kitt (@somaliforehead)
November 18, 2015
Deirdre Fulton
Deirdre Fulton is a former Common Dreams senior editor and staff writer. Previously she worked as an editor and writer for the Portland Phoenix and the Boston Phoenix, where she was honored by the New England Press Association and the Association of Alternative Newsweeklies. A Boston University graduate, Deirdre is a co-founder of the Maine-based Lorem Ipsum Theater Collective and the PortFringe theater festival. She writes young adult fiction in her spare time.
Sarah Lazare
Sarah Lazare is web editor at In These Times. She is a former Staff Writer at Common Dreams. She comes from a background in independent journalism for publications including The Intercept, The Nation, and Tom Dispatch.
Students at colleges and universities from coast to coast walked out of class, held rallies and teach-ins, and protested on Wednesday as part of a coordinated national day of action demanding racial justice both on- and off-campus.
The actions were both inspired by and in solidarity with recent protests at the University of Missouri and other institutions.
"We hope that Black students organize and participate in actions that really challenge white supremacy and anti-blackness on their campuses," University of Connecticut student Yamiesha Bellan, an organizer of the #StudentBlackOut mobilization, told NBC News. "Every school is [unique] and has different needs and wants; however, we know oppression takes place at every institution in this country and white supremacy is embedded all through higher education."
Demands from almost two dozen schools were collected on one website by Twitter user @samswey, an activist with Campaign Zero, which seeks to combat police violence and reform the criminal justice system. Calls ranged from greater access to higher education for Black and Indigenous communities to a public acknowledgment of deep-seated racism in the top echelons of school administrations.
At the time of publication dozens of protesters were occupying the office of the Princeton University president demanding a transformation of the school's racist legacy.
"We're here. We've been here. We ain't leaving. We are loved," they chanted as they staged their direct action.
Meanwhile, students at Stanford University publicly recited the words of exiled black liberation activist Assata Shakur:
At Tufts University, where a small percentage of students are African American, protesters are using the hashtag #thethreepercent to highlight their mobilization.
\u201cUniting as #TheThreePercent, we will have our voices heard. To Mizzou, Yale, and institutions all over, we hear you.\u201d— muna m (@muna m) 1447876950
Students at the University of Cincinnati are demanding justice for Samuel Dubose, an unarmed black man shot and killed by police.
\u201c"If you are silent about your pain, they will kill you and say you enjoyed it."\nZora Neale Hurston #StudentBlackOut\u201d— Alexander Shelton (@Alexander Shelton) 1447867140
And the movement crossed national borders as students in Ottawa joined in the mass mobilization:
#StudentBlackOut at uOttawa. We stand in solidarity with students at Yale and Mizzou pic.twitter.com/rLHbqPNtNx
-- nima/eartha kitt (@somaliforehead)
November 18, 2015
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