A peaceful protest took place Thursday night in honor of the Black lives that have been lost at the hands of police, spurred on by the recent deaths of Mike Brown and Eric Garner. At 9:00 pm, protestors poured into the first floor of the library, solemnly chanting “Hands up, don’t shoot.” Students studying for finals put aside their notes and textbooks to watch the protest as their peers marched by with signs reading “No Justice No Peace” and “End the New Jim Crow.”
After filing in, the protestors laid down on the ground for 4.5 minutes to represent the 4.5 hours that Mike Brown’s body lay uncovered after his death. As the protesters lay in silence, Korkor Koppoe, the organizer of the protest, read out the names dozens of others who have been killed at the hands of the police. Protestors and studiers alike shared in a long moment of silence after the names were read.
As the protesters began to file out after the allotted 4.5 minutes they were applauded by many of the Swem-goers as they passed.