Controversy for Conversations
DIE IN OR DIE OUT
by Jae
“Congress shall make no law respecting,
an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the
free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom
of speech, or of the press, or the right of the
people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the
Government for redress of grievances.” (First
Amendment to THE CONSTITUTION OF THE
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA.) I realized that
these familiar words are becoming an uncommon practice in America during my participation at a recent protest and die-in demonstration
led my college professor and mentor Dr. Zoe
Spencer. On December 8th, 2014 we held a protest and marched from the U.S. Capitol Building,
in D.C., to then perform our Die-In demonstration at the footsteps of the Dept. of Justice for
4.5 hours in 30 degree and below weather.
We had a large group of participants of all nationalities ranging from my fellow college alumni, local organizers, media specialist, and interested parties who contacted us after initially
receiving the social media buzz we created. We
departed from the Capitol Building after being
told we were not allowed to assemble on the
premises, regardless of how peacefully. The D.C.
police then formed a barrier and gave us what
seemed like a presidential escort off the premises as they followed us to our next destination.
There was an indisputable sentiment of power
and solidarity exhibited and felt among us as we
honored the victims of our flawed justice system
together.
The most intimate moment was at the end of the
Die-In demonstration, was rising from the frozen
sidewalk, after almost five hours of stillness. It
was a feat that was impossible to do alone and
required full compliance and trust in our “caretakers,” people designated to tend to us throughout the demonstration. It was an outer body and
humbling
experience filled with tears and heightened emotions to
say the least. After eating at a black owned business, we then attended and hosted a “Teach-In”
session, an open discussion forum to encourage
rising young activist and educate them on issues
and solutions with mobilizing and being heard,
at Howard University. We covered various topics to include but not limited to police brutality,
human rights violations, critical assessments of
African and American history, assimilation vs.
progression, the myth of “Black-On-Black” violence, and uniformed portrayals of blacks casted
in the media.
This movement is important not only to me but
many people who either feel oppressed or relate to the oppressed, for what seems like obvious reasons. As if the killings of people aren’t
bad enough, the system is built to support the
genocide of black and indigenous people. The
information from the media and a lot of people
in general is misleading at best. So we did not
hesitate to seize the opportunity to present our
concerns in full detail to the local and more importantly the international media outlets that
were present that day. We made sure to highlight
the premise of our concern as protestors and activists, clarifying that we are seeking an international investigation into the U.S. political system
which funds, supports, and even orchestrates
these human rights violations against black and
brown people, and not particularly the individuals who benefit from or protect the system. However, when those said individuals make it their
business to further impede our First amendment
right in efforts to mute our cause and then negatively manipulate our representation in the media, we will not hesitate to address them. Otherwise, the U.S. political system is and always has
been our main target.