Updated: Dec. 6, 2 a.m.
More than 200 students of color sprawled out across College Walk in a “die-in” during the annual tree-lighting ceremony on Thursday evening, a day after a Staten Island grand jury decided not to indict the police officer who choked and killed Eric Garner.
Students, many dressed in black, occupied College Walk from the Broadway gates to the sundial with some silently holding signs saying “We want justice” and “RIP Eric Garner.” The die-in followed a Black Students’ Organization performance of “Strange Fruit,” a 1937 Billie Holiday song protesting lynchings in the American South.
Around five minutes after the tree lights came on, the protesters got up and walked down Broadway to to 114th Street, stopping in front of the Intercultural Resource Center. While they were marching, protesters shouted “They left us dead, they left us dead, and we ain’t supposed to be mad.”
“We’re tired of being a permanent foreigner in the country we helped build. We are now a continued target under our constitution written when our ancestors are still in shackles,” Christiena Paulette Auguste, CC ’18 and one of the protesters, said. “We will not stand for that.”
Several police vans carrying dozens of officers arrived on scene within minutes of students gathering at the IRC, joining the handful of public safety officers. James McShane, vice president for Public Safety, did not immediately respond to requests for comments about why police were present.
After gathering in front of the IRC, a smaller group of students headed downtown to join protests at Foley Square, near City Hall. Thursday’s die-in occurred after nearly 500 protesters confronted police on Amsterdam Avenue and 114th Street late Wednesday night.
Brianna Alston, CC ’18, said she joined tonight’s protest because police brutality affects all black people.
“I’m scared to go outside,” Alston said. “This is a real fearful situation for the black community.”
Several graduate students also joined the mostly-undergraduate die-in crowd.
Stephanie Amoako, a dual-degree student at Columbia Law School and the School of International and Public Affairs, said the protest needed to offset the holiday festivities of the tree lighting ceremony.
“Business as usual can’t continue, our frivolities can’t continue while people are dying without reason and impunity,” Amoako said.
Nanxi You contributed reporting.
Clarification: A previous version of this article did not include the fact that the students who participated in Thursday's die-in were all students of color.
Comments
I appreciate these students. Continue to stand for what they believe in.
*lie down for
I still don't understand what they seek to accomplish.
I mean, I guess I can't blame them for feeling helpless.
The hype around this case will disappear in the coming weeks.
Shame how uppity these minorities are getting on this campus over a few instances of injustice and how these eggheaded white people urge them on.
Justice system fails sometimes. Deal with it.
Got these undesirables all riled up now screaming about innocent people dying in the streets.
What a bunch of shit. Grab an officers gun- you get shot
resist and arrest while you're overweight with a breathing condition and excite yourself, then you die.
You got these uppity colored folks runnin round calling it a "choke hold" when it's an issue of contention.
Got these uppity colored folks claimin someone got shot over stealin cigarellos and sellin loose cigs when in fact they died because they allegedly assaulted an officer and resisted an arrest.
Us white folk need to stop supporting this non sense.
Hear, hear!
The races which disproportionately commit crimes are also the races which need police the most to keep their communities safe. Why are they undermining their own protectors?
This can't be real. This CAN'T be real.
So tired of this "can't be real" garbage everytime an offensive comment is put on one of these articles.
get the fuck off your high horse
this exists. its fucking real. people live through it everyday
Dont for a second ever think that just because you're ensconced in your little ivy league university that ideas such as those espoused by the OP don't exist in your vicinity.
"Uppity colored folks" is the OP 85 years old or something
if this was posted as a joke, this is not funny in the slightest.
I will continue to be an "uppity colored folk" until there's some change in this country and people like you realize that we can't be silenced just because you're uncomfortable
I will continue to be an "uppity colored folk" until there's some change in this country and people like you realize that we can't be silenced just because you're uncomfortable
I will pray for you.
You, person, are racist as shit "Uppity"?! Really? Disgusting
One of the many "issues" brought up regarding Ferguson was that the police force was only 10% black (slightly under the national average) while the town was 65%, and that this racial disparity caused "mistrust" and hatred towards the police. I want to propose a hypothetical situation, where in a rich white neighborhood (think Tenafly, Rumson, or Short Hills NJ), the police force was 30-40% black, and the community claimed they didn't trust them due to their skin color. Would the people of the town be met with sympathy (as is the case in Ferguson), or would they be called out as the racist bigots they are?
I hope the students realize it is a crime to resist arrest and interfere with a police officer. The lesson learned, don't commit crimes.
Or, lesson learned- don't play with a toy gun in a park when you are black and 12, which is what got the boy in Cleveland killed last week.
Well, why was he walking around with a gun at 12 that looked real? The only reason was to commit crimes. Thiose are not "toy guns." The are guns purposely made to look real to intimidate people and commit crimes.
Are you a real person? Like, are you actually a real fucking person? "Why was he walking around with a gun at 12 that looked real?" ARE YOU REALLY SAYING A CHILD DESERVED TO DIE BECAUSE HE HAD A REALISTIC TOY? DO YOU GET WHAT YOU ARE SAYING??
The person you're responding to appears to believe that Tamir Rice was clearly intent on commiting a crime. I wouldn't go so far as to agree with that, but I do think that there is a distinction between someone deserving to die and a justified killing.
Tamir Rice certainly didn't deserve to die, but that doesn't necessarily mean that the police officer's decision to shoot him wasn't justified. The officers reported to what they thought was a situation involving a real gun (because he dispatcher did not inform them that it might be fake). Given what they knew, it isn't surprising that when they arrived to see what a appeared to be a real gun, they determined that themselves and the public were in damage, and decided to shoot first and ask questions later. I Imagine that many police officers would have done something similar, and they're actions would be somewhat justifiable.
I think that there are three real problems that this case raises:
1) Police officers need to be trained to make more intelligent tactical decisions -- why would you pull up right next to someone whom you think has a gun? The fact that a veteran officer made such a rash decision says something about the quality of the training provided to police officers. If the officers had approached Tanir Rice in a safer manner, they would have had ample time to realize that he did not threaten public safety.
2) Dispatchers need to be trained to relay information as accurately as possible. I don't know if this is an isolated case, but it is pretty inexcusable for a dispatcher to tell police officers that there is a person holding a gun, when they are told that it is probably a toy.
3) Parents need to make it clear to their kids what behavior is innapropriate in public because it endangers the kid and it endangers others. Just like parents need to make sure that their children know not to scream "fire" In a movie theater, they need to make sure that their children know not to play with toys that look like weapons in public, especially just how trigger-happy police officers are.
Their*
So proud that BC/CU students are standing up against the justice system that tacitly approves police murders of black Americans. I've seen so many of you at protests over the past week. What is our education worth if we don't use it to critique problems in society and to address systemic oppression and violence? So proud.
A comment like that shows that you did not read any of the grand jury evidence. If you did, your opinion would be quite the contrary.
1. There is nothing written in the US constituion guaranteeing a “civil right” for young black males to steal, assault and disobey law enforcement. The only civil rights that were violated were those of Officer Wilson. This man’s life is now in shambles because he did his job. He can no longer work as a public servant, nor can he even show his face in public. Officer Wilson is portrayed as the bad guy, while the family of Michael Brown is shown on national TV encouraging destruction of the community with no public reprimand.
The most disturbing and sad aspect of the whole situation is the ignorance of not just the black activists, but also the white liberals. Justice was served long before the grand jury made a decision. Michael Brown made the decision, not the grand jury. His parents should be outraged because their son was not the “gentle giant” they thought he was. Unfortunately, situations like this will surely happen again. It was a tragedy that a young man lost his life, but the real tragedy is the lack of common sense, morality and indivual accountability in the black community. The law was followed and a decision was made. Deal with it, move one and rise up against the thugs who are destroying our way of life, not those who are fighting to protect it.
As for the protestors across the USA, where is the line drawn between making a point and causing criminal acts? Blocking highways and intersections to protest civil right violations causes gridlock, inconvenience and anger. Protesters are violating the rights of those who wish to travel freely. How is this acceptable? How does inconveniencing the general public help your cause? The level of ignorance surrounding this entire matter from day one is sickening and unbelievable. Protests such as those that we’ve seen are pointless and will only serve to work against those trying to affect change.
Protesting will not solve the problem. We need parents to teach respect, morals and values to our children. We must teach our children to do the right thing, not to find fault with what is wrong. This is only a matter of race because black activists make it so. What if it had been a black officer and a white victim? What if it were an Asian or a Hispanic? Does it really matter? A crime was committed and a police officer who was sworn to protect and serve the community did his job. There is a system in place to ensure justice. The system worked. And now, for those who choose to use this as reason to cause violence and destruction, you too will find out how the justice system works when you are arrested and removed from society.
"Thugs" - the new n-word for all the closet racists in today's world.
I'm not going to touch your moral bootstrapping, post-racism shitpost but here might be a good place to start detoxing that diet racism you've been sippin' : http://www.motherjones.com/politics/2014/08/police-shootings-michael-brown-ferguson-black-men
I am so proud of you, protesters. Stand up for what is right. Stand up for what you believe in. Many students (and even more administrators) won't understand how you're feeling, but your rage is valid. Fight the fight, and know that many alumni (especially those of us who engaged in similar activism during our undergraduate careers) are swelling with pride. Roar until you force them to listen. Then keep roaring until changes are made.
How do we even begin to deal with the outrage of over 1,000 citizens being executed in the streets each year without trial? This is the number of police shootings estimated by press compilations since the government and law enforcement don’t even track the real figure. When 84% of surveyed officers admit to witnessing and not reporting excessive use of force, the entire system is corrupt. You can’t call these murders isolated incidences anymore. This brand of pig’s head soup is bitter to swallow at http://dregstudiosart.blogspot.com/2014/12/pigs-head-soup-outrage-of-justifiable.html where we’re burning it down.
Trees are gorgeous!