Black university students speak on SJP sit-ins at McKeldin Mall
UMD student Richard Birch speaks with journalist Katerra Jones for CTV about the sit-ins at the university(Theodore Rose/The Black Explosion
By Mario Morais and Aaron Wright
University of Maryland students and supporters brought laptops, blankets and snacks to McKeldin Mall on a hot, late spring day directly across from this university’s Main Administration Building on May 1.
Protesters pitched yard signs into the ground, duck-taped posters to the brick wall fencing and served hot meals to attendees who prepared to stay overnight.
Chants echoed across the mall as students called for the end of the genocide in Gaza.
“Disclose. Divest. We will not stop. We will not rest.”
“UMD, you can’t hide; you are funding genocide.”
“Free, free Palestine.”
These students were staging a sit-in.
Students have staged demonstrations on McKeldin Mall and Hornbake Plaza since Apr. 22.
Students for Justice in Palestine, a pro-Palestinian student organization chapter at this university, led these sit-ins. The organization called on university students to protest on McKeldin Mall to continue calls for university divestment from defense contractors supporting Israel along with a permanent ceasefire in Palestine.
Black students took an active role in the sit-in. Some see a strong intersectionality between calls for justice in Palestine and calls for justice for Black lives murdered by police nationwide.
Mubarack Adeshina, a junior math and statistics major, said he frequents a lot of the UMD SJP events and wants everyone to learn about what’s happening to people in Palestine.
“A lot of their plights I relate to heavily as an African American-Nigerian immigrant in America,” Adeshina said. “A lot of the things that occur to marginalized people like us, POCs, I can see a part of me in the Palestinians also, too. Which is why I decided to be a part of this community over here.”
One pro-Palestinian activist is using a makeshift drum to rally the chants (Theodore Rose/The Black Explosion).
Some Black students see the sit-in as a way to establish themselves as activists and find their political voice.
Christopher Wakhanala, a junior geographical science major, said he is not usually politically outspoken. However, he sees this moment of university students coming together in support of Palestine as his chance to express his views.
“I think it's important to just show support for this idea of creating a more humanitarian world,” said Wakhanala.
Daniela Colombi, a member of SJP, said that the diversity within this sit-in is the source of the movement’s strength.
“[The sit-in] is a safe space where people know that they can actually exist,” said Colombi. “You can share your language, you can share your culture, you can share food, literally anything.”
Black Faculty members look onward ar the sit-in from the tail-end of McKeldin Mall (Theodore Rose/The Black Explosion).
SJP hosted a speaker and chant series during the May 1 sit-in, where more than 200 students, staff and faculty gathered to hear students share their perspectives of how the bombardment in Gaza is shaping their lives.
One of the speakers, an SJP officer who agreed to speak anonymously due to fear of reprisal, spoke about the ongoing discussion surrounding the encampments at different universities.
“It’s easy to dismiss our efforts as disruptive, but what is truly disruptive is silence in the face of injustice,” said the officer. “What is truly disruptive is the normalization of violence and oppression. What is truly disruptive is the moral bankruptcy that allows institutions to turn a blind eye to suffering for profit margins.”
Since the attack by Hamas on Oct. 7, Israel’s military action in Gaza has resulted in the deaths of more than 34,000 Palestinians Reuters reported on Wednesday.
Across the country, university students are protesting on their campuses in support of Palestine by establishing encampments or sit-ins.
Students have paid attention to demonstrations, including those at institutions where student protestors have been arrested by police and subjected to violence from counter-protesters.
“There's always a concern that they're gonna come after us,” said Colombi. “Trying to achieve liberation requires a lot of sacrifice.”
Demonstrators are required to leave every day by midnight, according to Marsha Guenzler-Stevens, director of the Adele H. Stamp Student Union.
In a statement to The Black Explosion, university officials stated they “do not have any details to offer” in response to questions asking if students were referred for misconduct or criminal charges.