Peaceful protestors on Sunday gathered and marched in the city as a mix of Oswego State students, faculty, and community members demanded changes in local policing practices as well as campus diversity and inclusion policies.

The event was organized by the Student Association, Black Student Union, and Accept Oswego, a local organization founded to support and provide resources young LGBTQ+ voices.

The crowd sported masks, handcrafted signs, T-shirts, and various symbols signifying solidarity and acknowledging the Black Lives Matter movement. Water bottles were distributed to participants.

There were more than double the number of participants from their first protest on May 31. Everyone remained socially distant and relaxed as students voiced their demands and called for systemic and institutional change, after by the murder of George Floyd in Minneapolis, Minnesota, in May.

The names of other black individuals previously killed were acknowledged and spoken, including Breonna Taylor and Ahmaud Arbery.

Sunday’s event also recognized the upcoming Juneteenth holiday. Celebrated on June 19, the date signifies the end of American slavery on June 19, 1865.

The demonstration began with student speakers upon the steps of Sheldon Hall. Speakers included Student Association president Lizeth Ortega-Ramirez, former Student Association president Omar van Reenan, and former Black Student Union president Keonna Wren.

The speakers voiced their demands before directing a march to Culkin Hall, which houses administrative offices, to raise the Black Lives Matter flag with the aid of campus faculty and staff.

Wren addressed the crowd on the steps of Sheldon Hall. With a powerful pain in her voice, she spoke about her own personal experiences growing up as a black woman and the lessons instilled in her at a young age from her parents.

“I am afraid of the police. I am afraid of my people getting shot and not making it home. No one should feel that way,” Wren said. “This was not an isolated event. This happens all over the world, but George Floyd was something that sparked all of us. Enough is enough.”

Wren asked the crowd to raise their hand if any other black protestors received the “sit-down talk” at a young age. Dozens of hands were raised.

“Trauma stays in your DNA,” she said. “Your mom had to tell you, when you see the police, please be quiet. Don’t be too loud. Follow all the directions. When you go to school, be polite. Walk this way. Talk this way.”

Oswego State President Deborah Stanley, who ordered the painting of ‘Black Lives Matter’ on the Sheldon Hall pavement, was present and addressed the crowd at the flagpole outside of Culkin Hall.

“I prepared my heart to have empathy for everything that will come after today and with your instruction to help us forge a direct path,” Stanley said. “I prepared my mind, because today is a day when we need to listen. When we listen, we must engage our intellect in helping to find solutions. We can no longer be silent, and we can no longer consider this someone else’s problem.”

In a letter to students on Friday, June 12, Stanley said, “Across the nation, people of color and their allies are mobilizing to address structural and systemic racism. I pledge to you that SUNY Oswego will live its educational mission to the fullest, and with deep commitment and understanding, we will be unwavering in pursuing justice, equality and peace. We will not rest. I hear you, I am listening to you, I stand with you.”

Escorted by police, protestors marched down West Bridge Street to Oswego City Hall to raise the BLM flag yet again.

At the intersection of Bridge Street and West 1st Street, protestors paused traffic and knelt in the streets with their hands raised above their heads for 8 minutes and 46 seconds—the duration of time Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin restrained Floyd with his knee placed on Floyd’s neck.

Protesters continued to the back of City Hall where they invited black professors, community members, and healthcare employees to join them in raising the Black Lives Matter Flag before leaving their signs and banners upon the steps of the City Hall in protest of Oswego Mayor Billy Barlow’s absence.

While Barlow was not present, protestors addressed him by name and laid out their demands for a community overhaul, including educational reform to include curriculum structured around diversity and inclusion, increased funding for social services, counseling and mental health resources for black community members. Also included was the hiring of black healthcare workers and educators.

“This is what the revolution looks like,” van Reenan said. “We call for transformative change, and we call for structural change.”

Photo by Nicole Hube | The Oswegonian