A small group of students and faculty members at Saint Louis University joined others at the University of Missouri-St. Louis, Southern Illinois University-Edwardsville, and Clayton High School in a nationwide mass walk out on Monday, December 1.
At 12:01 CST on Monday – a day marking nearly 60 years since Rosa Parks refused to give up her seat on a segregated bus – people simultaneously walked out of schools and places of work or temporarily shut down businesses.
They stood in solidarity with Ferguson and communities across the country affected by police violence. Protestors took to streets declaring that “Black Lives Matter” after a St. Louis County grand jury decided not to indict now former Ferguson Police Officer Darren Wilson in the fatal shooting of unarmed teen Michael Brown Jr. Protestors say there will be no more business as usual and that they can no longer cooperate with a system that does not value black lives.
The #HandsUpWalkOut was the latest in a series of direct actions – including the #ShutItDown actions that have blocked major highways and intersections and the #BlackoutBlackFriday protests.
Christopher Winston, a freshman at SLU, stood beneath the Joseph G. Lipic Clock Tower on campus holding a handmade Black Lives Matter sign. He and others within the group took turns calling out the names of those killed by police: Michael Brown Jr., VonDerrit Myers Jr., Kajieme Powell.
“Tamir Rice,” someone called out. Tamir Rice was recently shot and killed by Cleveland police. He was only 12.
“We must change policing in our country,” said Jonathan Smith, an African American Studies assistant professor at SLU.
Across town at Washington University, a student at the Brown School of Social Work blocked traffic holding a sign that read: “This is what social work looks like.”
Students with the Brown School of Social Work led walk out protests at Washington University and were joined by St. Louis Students in Solidarity, said organizer and Brown School student Lena Smith.
“The role of social work is to fight against systemic oppression,” Smith said. “The social work profession needs to be a part of this dialogue.”
Smith said about 30 people met up inside the Brown School commons area and at 12:01 walked out, chanting, “Hands Up! Don’t Shoot!” They stood outside of Goldfarb Hall where they waited for other students on campus to join the group.
The larger group marched through the hallways of Goldfarb Hall, chanting, “This is what an education looks like!” and “This is what a social worker looks like!”
They passed the office of Brown School Professor Timothy McBride, who said he came in on his day off to join students in protest. Posted on McBride’s door was a green #HealSTL sign, along with photos and quotes by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and Mahatma Ghandi. McBride described himself as a student of Dr. King and said he is passionate about social justice issues. McBride said he was proud of his students and that he wants to see the movement continue as a means of addressing broader issues impacting the St. Louis region.
The march ended back at the school’s commons area, where they staged a die-in for four and half minutes in memory of Michael Brown Jr. Students packed into the small commons area through the double doors that led outside and into the next building. Then they continued their march and staged another die-in on campus.
Early Monday morning, during separate acts of civil disobedience, members of St. Louis Students in Solidarity coordinated Homework in the Streets at Washington University and UMSL. Another was held around 5:30 p.m. at SLU. St. Louis Students in Solidarity is a coalition of students from Saint Louis University, UMSL, Washington University, and Webster University.
Students holding a large handmade banner that read “Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere” blocked traffic on Grand Avenue near SLU. They also staged a die-in at the Lipic Clock Tower.
“We can no longer remain complacent when a police officer can shoot and kill an unarmed teenager without legal repercussions,” the coalition said in a statement. “We refuse to sit idly as the justice system continues to ignore the blatant criminalization of black and brown bodies. To remain silent regarding the conditions we face is to accept a flawed system.”
Follow this reporter on Twitter: @BridjesONeil.
