Dozens of Southern Illinois University Carbondale students gathered at the Student Center during the noon hour Tuesday to protest against what they believe is police injustice in the U.S. It's in response to the cases of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri and Eric Garner in New York.
The die-in featured many of the students lying down as if dead in order to block traffic in front of the University Bookstore. SIU-C senior Benjamin Smith led the event with talk of what he calls the need for a revolution to stop the oppression of black people in America. Smith says the revolution in this case means educating people how all lives matter, because this is more than a black issue.
SIU graduate student Bethany Henning from Chicago says as a white woman, she has not experienced the same kind of injustices at the center of Tuesday's protest, but she tries to understand what people of color have to deal with. SIU senior Amber McKinley from Chicago says she hopes the protest leads to positive changes in the way police and black citizens interact.
It wasn't just SIU students who gathered during the die-in protest at the Student Center. Father Joseph Brown - Chair of the Africana Studies program at SIU-C - took a few moments to address those taking part.
SIU President and Carbondale campus interim chancellor Randy Dunn also made an appearance. He said protests like these were commonplace during the 1960's and 70's and he thinks it's a good thing to see them return in a peaceful manner. Dunn says college campuses are the perfect locations for peaceful protests so young people can make their voices heard on important social matters.
Protest organizer Benjamin Smith says he gathered contact information from some of those involved in the protest. He plans to contact them and set up workshops to discuss ways how they can affect policy changes to stop racial profiling and other injustices.
