By Anna Hansen
September 8, 2020
Edgewood College community members gathered on Monroe Street Sept. 1 to peacefully protest police brutality and support the Black Lives Matter movement following the August 23 police shooting of Jacob Blake in Kenosha.
The protest, organized by Vivi Velasquez, Jahdai Guerrero, and Shawn Padley, featured several speakers who shared their personal experiences with racism, offered prayers, and called for action to end anti-Blackness and police brutality.
“I am tired today,” said Diamond Pikulyk, an Edgewood senior addressing a crowd distanced outside of Edgewood’s Predolin Humanities Center.
“This isn’t just a normal “I didn’t get enough sleep” tired or a “I stayed up doing my homework all night” tired. It’s the kind of tired that comes from having to wake up every single day wondering if this day is going to be someone’s last on this Earth due to being murdered by the police or white supremacists.”
Pikulyk was one of many speakers addressing Edgewood community members during the protest. Each speaker referenced the names of Black victims of police brutality, primarily George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Sandra Bland, Trayvon Martin, Michael Brown, Tamir Rice, and Ahmaud Arbery, and addressed the fear and exhaustion felt by the Black community.
“iIt’s not an easy pill to swallow watching people get murdered on camera,” said Pikulyk. “It’s especially not easy when you envision yourself, your brothers, your best friends, all under those same circumstances. We’re getting real-time videos of police killing and unlawfully detaining Black people what feels like every single day.”
Edgewood admissions counselor Bobbie Briggs asked how many more examples were needed. “How many more lynch cards do you need? Now you have virtual ones. You see the bodies of my brothers and sisters sprawled out just to invoke care. Do you care? Why does it take all that for you to care?”
Many police shootings are widely publicized on social media apps like Twitter and Instagram.
“Imagine a world where social media doesn’t exist,” said Pikulyk. “How many names do we not know? How many Black lives have been taken at the hands of white supremacists or the police that aren’t publicized?”
Shaunda Brown Rivera, director of Edgewood’s Office of Student Inclusion and Involvement (OSII) spoke of racism as a close-to-home issue. “We have a problem,” said Brown-Rivera. “It’s not just a community problem. It’s not just a U.S. problem. It’s not just an America problem. It’s a Wisconsin problem. We have an Edgewood problem.”
According to a report by Wisconsin Public Radio (WPR), Milwaukee and Racine rank first and second respectively as the worst cities in the U.S. for Black people to live in in terms of income and prison system disparities.
In recent weeks, the Edgewood community has seen racist and anti-Black sentiment expressed, including xenophobic sentiments expressed in a classroom and anti-Black epithets in nearby Wingra park.
“We need to have a vocal commitment to justice,” said Edgewood College President Andrew Manion at the rally. “We need to make sure everyone understands that Black lives matter.”
Speakers implored the crowd to take action, to have the difficult conversations surrounding white privilege and anti-blackness.
“There is somebody in your residence hall, somebody in your class, somebody on your team, there is somebody you know that doesn’t feel like they belong here,” said Brown-Rivera. “I want you to understand that some people around you cannot live a regular life without being terrified.”
Edgewood student Alex Okelue called for change. “I’m tired of waking up every day thinking today could be my last,” said Okelue. “It’s time for us to have a revolution to change the racist ties in our country and on campus.”
Briggs echoed Okelue’s sentiments. “I want to see each and every one of us take a stand against what is happening in this world. Take a stand against these systems that were built in, take a stand against your own families.”
Pikulyk said there is discomfort in acknowledging privilege. “It’s going to get uncomfortable,” said Pikulyk. “You know what else is uncomfortable? Having a knee on your neck for 9 minutes and your last words being a call out to your deceased mother.”
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