Students from Brown and the Rhode Island School of Design came together with Providence community members Friday to protest police mistreatment of people of color.
Student leaders unanimously declared the demonstration a success, with over 100 people showing up to protest at Market Square — a location significant for its ties to the slave trade, said Yelitsa Jean-Charles, president of the new RISD chapter of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People.
Several students delivered speeches regarding police brutality and militarization, racial profiling and rights when approached by police officers, said Armani Madison ’16, president of the new Brown chapter of the NAACP and a former Herald opinions columnist. Protesters then laid down, silent and motionless, while Madison read off names of people of color killed by police officers.
Protesters fell silent to show respect for and solidarity with those who have lost their lives at the hands of police, Madison said.
Though discourse on police brutality and its impact on people of color has spread across the nation since the shooting of 18-year-old Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri, a month ago, Madison said students should be aware that police brutality can happen anywhere, including in Providence. The number of names Madison read aloud highlighted that police victimization of people of color affects many people, most of whom do not receive media coverage, said Sarah Jackson ’16, vice president of the NAACP at Brown.
Since Brown’s murder, many individuals have taken to social media to raise awareness about the issues the protesters discussed. Jean-Charles was inspired to organize a protest by online conversations in the aftermath of Brown’s shooting, as well as a Philadelphia protest led by Keith Wallace, which sparked the #CallUsByOurNames trend on Twitter.
Friday’s demonstration “allowed students to actively express their opinions” rather than confine their sentiments to social media, Jean-Charles said.
Moriah Benton, a RISD student, recounted an experience she had as a witness to police discrimination directed at two young black men in New York, stressing the importance of spreading awareness and knowing one’s rights. The speech stood out, said Ifeoma Kamalu ’15, who called it “powerful.”
Organizers primarily used social media to spread the word about the event, Madison said. Students also handed out flyers, put up posters and enlisted the help of the Providence branch of the NAACP to draw more people to Market Square, Jean-Charles added.
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