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‘The more you know, the better you can organize’ BSA’s virtual march searches for solutions

There was a pre-event where Black Student Association handed out Black Lives Matters wristbands. Photo by Morgan Patrick.

The Black Student Association (BSA) hosted “Black Lives Matter: A March for our Lives” virtually at 6 p.m. last Friday. It was one of the four events presented by organizations such as student senate and the National Society of Black Engineers for the Black Lives Matter series during the week of Oct. 29 – Nov. 6 hosted by a group of student organizations.

The virtual march featured messages from faculty, staff and students with music and spoken word poetry.

The Peoria County Auditor Jessica Thomas was the keynote speaker and spoke to students about how they can make changes to issues that the Black community faces. Thomas also works with NAACP chapters, including youth chapters, and is a board member of the public radio station WCBU, among other roles.

“She’s very involved with the community,” Nailah Brown, president of BSA and a junior political science major, said. “We thought she would be a great fit to speak to students and give them encouragement as well as a little bit of history.”

In order to prevent further injustices, Thomas said that young people can research as much as they can to advocate for change in addition to building a relationship with elected officials and understanding their roles.

“You can’t come to me and ask for me to pass a policy—that is not within my authority or power as the Peoria County auditor,” Thomas said. “It’s very important to learn all the roles and responsibilities and authority of each elected official.”

Along with Thomas’ speech, Norris Chase, director of the Office of Diversity and Inclusion professed his definition of Black identity. He said that being Black reminds him of scholarship, love, ingenuity, power and perseverance.

“I can go on and on for days, but that’s what Black means to me,” Chase said. “Black is beauty.”

In a recorded message, university president Stephen Standifird spoke to the audience, stating that he is committed to making Bradley more inclusive and diverse.

“I want to let our Black students know that you belong here and that we are here for you and that you are a valued part of the Bradley community,” Standifird said.

Brown said that the event also highlighted success from the Black community. There was a poet for the event whose performance responded to Martin Luther King Jr.’s “I Have a Dream” speech. The poet also explained the progress that Black people have made in America from the time of King’s death to the present day.

Thomas also discussed that Illinois has its share of a racist history, including the Springfield race riot of 1908.

There are four events for the Black Lives Matter series hosted by multiple organizations. Photo by Morgan Patrick.

When a white Springfield woman falsely accused a Black man of raping her, a mob came to the prison in which the accused man was held, according to Thomas. When news broke out that he had been transferred, the mob destroyed Black-owned businesses and neighborhoods in the city.

Thomas said that events like these led to the development of the NAACP.

Before the summer of George Floyd’s death, Thomas said that her cousin died from being put in a knee-hold by a Minneapolis police officer. His death followed with a lawsuit between Thomas’ family and the Minneapolis police department, where they settled on a promise to stop using knee-hold restraints.

“As we see, that didn’t happen,” Thomas said. “My cousin died and his settlement should have prevented the death of George Floyd. My cousin was only 28 years old playing basketball at a YMCA when his life was taken from him.”

Despite a pandemic, students are still showing their activism for Black Lives Matter. Brown said that while some Americans have to deal with a virus for a pandemic, minorities have to face the pandemic of racism and the lack of opportunities on top of COVID-19.

“We just want to spread the message that anything regarding discrimination and racism is unacceptable,” Brown said. “It’s very important to listen, watch and learn to know what they can do, how to be allies and how to deal with their own trauma if they are minority students.”

Throughout the event, there was an emphasis on unity to solve issues prevalent in the Black community by using any skill possible to be an active member of the community.

“Be unafraid to use any and every opportunity to spread awareness and justice,” Thomas said. “Knowledge is truly power. The more you know, the better you can organize, strategize and vocalize injustices that plague our community.”

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