Blackout at Columbia
‘We’re at a moment, another peak in time, when black people are fed up with what’s going on in this country and this world’
Last night on the Morningside Campus, hundreds of students of color, white allies, administrators and the media gathered around the Sundial in a show of solidarity and support for the student protests at the University of Missouri, Yale University, Rhodes University and the University of Cape Town.
This event was advertised on Facebook as #STUDENTBLACKOUT, and was one of yesterday’s many student protests on campuses along with the Million Student March.
The Blackout began with speakers who read aloud the grievances and lists of demands made by students at Mizzou, Yale, Rhodes and UCT, which was followed by an open forum of black students who read poetry and recounted stories of racism they experienced on and off the Morningside Campus.
Columbia student Damon, one of the organizers of the event, said: “This was a product of a wide student collaboration.
“Mizzou and Yale and the students in South Africa realized they’re all getting fucked. We are realizing we’re getting fucked.
“Nobody really gives a fuck about their issues at Yale, that’s the exact same thing we’re going through here.”
Another organizer, Economics and Political Science double major Rafael, added: “I think one of the most powerful things about this evening is that we all know this wasn’t an isolated event.
“We know that across different campuses and across the country people organized and mobilized under the same banner.
“The resignations that happened at Mizzou would not have happened without people actively standing and taking action and making people feel uncomfortable and occupying that space.”
The goal of the event was to bring students at Columbia together and to give them a space in which to heal, express love for each other and let the greater campus community know that they will not be silent in the face of racism and oppression, whether it exists across the nation or here in Morningside Heights.
Political Science major Daniel said: “This event is reflective of a powerful historical moment we’re in.
“I think really if we sit and think about the significance of this we can realize how big of a moment this is.
“This stuff didn’t happen on this scale even a year ago, let alone 10, let alone 20, this is significant and it’s growing and it’s happening now.”
And Urban Studies and Political Science double major Gianni added: “We’re inspired by our brothers and sisters across the country who deal with racism every single day from the institutions where we’re supposed to grow and develop.
“We’re inspired by their actions to fight back and actually make those administrations and institutions change and answer to them.
“We just wanted to stand in solidarity with them today and show that we’re here in support, and that we see them and we’re here for them and that they’re not alone in this fight.”