Students from Spelman College, Emory University, Morehouse, Georgia Tech, Kennesaw State University and Clark Atlanta University marched through the rain Wednesday night in solidarity with “the national #StudentBlackOut, and the many other black college students around this country.”
Wednesday’s rally was part of a national student “blackout” event to show solidarity with black students at the University of Missouri and for students across the country to address racial injustice on their campuses.
The #StudentBlackout event called for students to organize and participate in events on their campuses and communities. It comes a week after two top leaders at the University of Missouri resigned after student protests over the administration’s handling of racist incidents on campus. Similar student events have occurred at Yale, Virginia Commonwealth University and other institutions.
APD said 50 to 60 protesters peacefully gathered at Centennial Olympic Park on Wednesday night to show solidarity with University of Missouri.
An Atlanta Black Students United release before the event demanded change at metro Atlanta colleges to “provide adequate resources for all of their black students.”
Locally, black students at Kennesaw State University released a list of demands Wednesday asking for an increase in African-American studies, cultural diversity training for all student groups, including Greek organizations, and strong sanctions added to KSU’s current policies for people committing racist actions on campus.
A group of students at Georgia Southern University in Statesboro held a sit-in earlier Wednesday asking for improved minority programs, visibility, and a say in the school's presidential search, according to news outlets that covered the event. A day before, members of the school's NAACP chapter also held a walkout. Students there also want Georgia Southern to hire more black faculty.
Students tweeted updates from the rain-soaked Wednesday night march in downtown Atlanta via the hashtag: #ATLBSU. Scroll through tweets, photos and videos from the march below.
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