On Thursday, August 27, student protestors gathered and marched from the University Police headquarters at Pathfinder Hall to Sheldon Hall in solidarity with the Black Lives Matter movement and in response to recent instances of police brutality, including the Kenosha, Wisconsin, shooting of Jacob Blake. 

Organized as an unsponsored and unaffiliated individual event by sophomore Brandon Gonzalez, approximately 30 student participants trekked across campus to gather in front of the Sheldon steps underneath the campus Black Lives Matter flag.

Students were encouraged by Gonzalez to speak up and share their thoughts and personal experiences associated with the Black Lives Matter movement. 

Gonzalez emphasized the work that still must be done to achieve the results the movement was founded upon. He called upon administration and local government to take a greater stand against acts of police brutality, individual acts of student-to-student racism and ensuring the safety and security of students of color. 

“We’re not marching here because of this one incident of police brutality,” Gonzalez said. “We’re marching because we believe there is a world outside of anti-blackness and outside of white supremacy. We’re here for justice for Breonna Taylor and other black people who may be seen as tokens.”

Gonzalez noted that the reason the group chose UP headquarters as a starting point for the march was that they felt that it was necessary to bring awareness to a list of demands that Gonzalez says have gone unaddressed. Regarding campus policing and police conduct, such as banning the use of chokeholds. 

“We don’t live in a colorblind society. Obama’s election didn’t make America post-racial. In fact, it exacerbated racial issues. We’ve seen post-Obama that there has been a wave of racist violence,” Gonzalez said. “We would still like to see policy transparency.”

Sophomore Jacques Naugaus followed Gonzalez’s remarks to take the floor outside Sheldon.

“I am a black man and I am a novelty,” Naugaus said. “I live with the color of my skin every single day. No matter what I do, it’s always there.” 

Naugaus is the son of a Haitian immigrant father, noting that his parents “basically came from zero.” 

Naugaus went on to explain how while growing up, he spent most of his time in the “quiet corner” of elementary school classrooms. It wasn’t until later in his adolescence that Naugaus came to the realization that certain individuals were aiming to criminalize him and pull him out of the education system. 

Naugaus added that he knew other students who ended up in the prison system and expressed his gratitude to his mother for making him aware of the issue of racial profiling.  

“My mom saw what I couldn’t see,” Naugaus stated. 

During his speech, Naugaus noted his experience with researching his own ancestry and expressed his frustrations over the barriers he was met with during his process. 

Naugaus requested for his peers to take the time to research their own heritage. This was an idea echoed by Gonzalez, who noted the issue of African Americans attempting to learn about their own history before and after the era of American slavery, sharecropping and the Civil Rights movement.

After multiple students volunteered to share their experiences and remarks, Gonzalez led the group to observe a moment of silence. 

Naugaus said he fully supports the decision of the NBA’s Milwaukee Bucks to postpone three playoff games, including the game against the Orlando Magic where Milwaukee players planned a walk-out before the game. 

Gonzalez also supports the Bucks’ decision but added his own criticism to the discussion.

 “When it comes to the decision to boycott, I feel as though the WNBA have been actively protesting incidents of racial violence for as long as they’ve been playing,” Gonzalez critiqued. “They’ve yet to receive the same recognition and the same pundits. I’m still on the fence about it all.”

Naugaus and Gonzalez called on-campus administration to do more to protect students against prejudice and bigotry and to actively demonstrate their attentiveness and support in regards to the Black Lives Matter movement, and to provide all faculty with more personal protective equipment to ensure their safety while on campus. 

Gonzalez expressed his desire to expand opportunities to explore Black heritage and African American studies, while Naugaus explained his desire to “focus on the positives” as well. 

 “I want to hear about triumph,” Naugaus said. “I want to hear about Black success. The only way that can happen is for everybody else to realize and understand what our people are and what we stand for.”

Photo by Nicole Hube | The Oswegonian