As the country marched and protested over the spring and summer in support of Black Lives Matter, Middle Tennessee State University students said the experience was inspiring and eye-opening.
Ahmad Thomas, 21, a video and film major at MTSU, said that participating in the protests was something he needed to experience as a member of the Black community. For Braxton Coleman, 21, a fellow Black student at MTSU, it was the number of unjust murders that has been occurring that prompted him to join the protests.
When George Floyd’s death sparked a wave of protests all over the United States and the world, Tennessee was no exception. Tennesseans marched and protested police brutality and racial inequality with everybody else. Besides Nashville, where the biggest and most violent protests occurred, other cities in Tennessee, such as Bristol, Chattanooga, Clarksville, Cleveland, Jackson, Knoxville, Memphis, and Murfreesboro also experienced their fair share of protests and marches from people who wanted change. While most of the protests began peacefully, the presence of the heavily armed police officers quickly changed the atmosphere.
“It was never violent until the police showed up and the presence that they brought was very violent, very hostile, and very cold, and that’s always when things would kind of take a turn,” said Hannah Rose, 23, an MTSU alumna who went to the protests in Nashville.
According to Maria de Guzman, A Filipino American MTSU alumna, one of the reasons she joined the protests was reciprocation.
“Black people advocated for Asian rights and immigrant rights during the Civil Rights Movement. Personally, I owe so much of my own pride in my heritage and culture to seeing how black people are proud of their culture and heritage,” said de Guzman.
For Rose, she marched to make a statement about herself. “There’s a sense of guilt that I felt as a white woman because people were looking at me and I didn’t want them to think that I was just there so I could post about it on my Instagram. . . but also recognizing they’re allowed to assume that about me because there were a lot of people who were there for those reasons and just trying to remind myself of my intentions and why I was there and trying to make sure that I was letting them speak instead of speaking over them.”
Coleman recounted his experience of being arrested by the Nashville police, along with a friend, back in late July.
“One minute after the plaza closed, they were legally allowed to arrest. They zip cuffed us and started taking us away right down the steps. They were pulling one of my dear friends and they were pulling her by her braids on the street. As soon as people started taking the troopers off of her, they started tackling them too. . . the thing is, they can do what they want. They don’t care,” said Coleman.
Besides participating in protests, some of these students are doing other things to raise awareness about the Black Lives Matter movement. According to Thomas, he protests largely through things he creates, such as films and music. Cody Maness, 21, a Filipino American student at MTSU, said that he has been posting Black Lives Matter content on social media and donating to different bail funds.
“Sometimes I think people view activism as doing something big and out there, which it can be, but activism is also living life in a way that’s anti racist and encouraging others to do the same,” said Emma Bradley, 22, an MTSU alumna.
Guzman said she’ll continue to participate in the protests and marches. “I will go to every protest that I know about until the fight is over.”
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