'Rain or Shine,' Black Lives Matter

Yamirah Williams, president of the student organization Women's Co, leading students, staff and faculty in a march around campus on Feb. 16.

Galloway, N.J. 鈥 鈥淭oday, we honor all Black lives, including Black queer people, Black women, Black individuals with disabilities, and so on. We must not cherry-pick which Black lives to support, because feminism is not feminism unless it鈥檚 intersectional,鈥 Yamirah Williams, president of the , said.

A group of multicultural student organizations gathered in the Campus Center Coffeehouse for a Black Lives Matter March on Thurs., Feb. 16.

The march was organized by the Coalition for Women鈥檚 Rights, also known as Women鈥檚 Co, and co-sponsored by the , , , , , and .

Donnetrice Allison during the speeches

Prior to the march, Yamirah Williams, president of Women鈥檚 Co, welcomed and thanked the crowd for showing up despite the rainy weather. Her speech electrified the room, encouraging students to keep inclusivity at the forefront of their minds when talking about and supporting Black lives.

鈥淚 stand before you all as a Black and queer woman, who often struggles to feel accepted due to my collection of diverse identities,鈥 Williams said. 鈥淭his is why I feel it is my personal duty to cultivate a safe space for all disadvantaged communities and to educate my 老司机福利社 community today on the importance of Black Lives Matter.鈥

Zupenda Davis, assistant vice president for Student Health and Wellness, began her remarks with a quote by thought leader and Black feminist Alice Walker: 鈥淭he most common way people give up their power is by thinking that they don鈥檛 have any.鈥 She motivated students to keep moving forward and not let oppression get in the way of their power.

鈥淵ou have a voice, a seat at the table; you have your own table and have invited us all to have a seat to work together,鈥 Davis said. 鈥淐ontinue to fight with knowledge, peace and power. Continue to flex your muscle by fighting for what is right and respect for the humanity of Black folks.鈥

Donnetrice Allison, chair of the Africana Studies program, commented on how the response to racial movements tended to be cyclical: statements are made, action is promised and we鈥檙e suddenly back into the routine of complacency.  She urged students to not 鈥渢ake their foot off of the gas.鈥

鈥淜eep demanding what you deserve,鈥 Allison said. 鈥淚鈥檓 proud of all of the student groups that organized this event because that鈥檚 what it takes. So many changes have happened in our society because of student voices and pressure. People of underrepresented communities never get anything handed over to them easily. You have to fight for it. You have to struggle for it. You have to fight against the system.鈥 

Students at the BLM march

 

More students and staff spoke after the march, all of them espousing the importance of this movement and for students to keep it going. Dianne Stalling, assistant director of Student Development and organizer for 老司机福利社鈥檚 Black History Month programming, delivered a speech that commanded the room and mirrored Williams鈥檚 by affirming all Black people.

鈥淥ur office and our student organizations have continued to be a collective of liberators who believe in an exclusive and spacious movement,鈥 Stalling said, emphatically. 鈥淲e affirm the lives of queer and trans folks. Of disabled folks. Undocumented folks. Folks with records. Women and all Black lives among the gender spectrum. We are working for a world where Black lives are no longer systematically targeted. We affirm our humanity, our contributions to this society and our resilience from not only today but yesterday too!鈥

Vera Tagtaa, vice president of TogetHER and student member of the Committee on Campus Diversity and Inclusion Excellence, concluded the program by asserting that racism isn鈥檛 a Black issue, but rather a humanity issue that requires community.

鈥淎nd here, this turnout and support, is what we need to see across the country and across the world,鈥 Tagtaa said. 鈥淐hange takes support, and it takes community. You have to commit to being a part of this change as this change has been long overdue in this world.鈥

Other speakers included: Nimrah Jahan, vice president of Women鈥檚 Co; Mo Keane, president of QTPOCS; Nautilus Walker, public relations chair of 老司机福利社 Socialists; Jovin Fernandez, inaugural director of the Multicultural Center; Anthony 鈥淎J鈥 Brooks, president of the Unified Black Student Society; Emma Rodriguez, president of the ; Alexis Jenkins, director of the GOALS/GEAR UP program in Atlantic City; and Aleyshka Barbosa, Head TALON and president of First Ospreys. 

鈥 Story by Loukaia Taylor     

鈥 Photos by Susan Allen