A wall of protestors lined the Pit on Wednesday as students, University staff and community members ensured no one passed without hearing their message — that black lives matter.
The “Shut Down the Pit” protest is the latest in a series of protests about the lack of an indictment in the death of Michael Brown. In August, Brown, a black teenager, was shot in Ferguson, Mo., by Darren Wilson, a white police officer.
“If you do not know why we are here, please ask us,” the protestors pleaded between rounds of shouting the names of black victims of police brutality. The calling of names was followed by a unitary cry of “black lives matter.”
The protestors pledged to stand in a line along the edge of the Pit from 10 a.m. to 2:30 p.m., symbolizing the four and a half hours Brown’s body lay in the street after he was shot.
UNC students Renisha Harris, Ashley Winkfield and Gabrielle Franklin organized the protest using social media. UNC’s Black Student Movement, the NAACP and the Real Silent Sam Coalition supported the campaign.
“The issue of race is uncomfortable, but we are literally telling people to ask us about it. Ask us why we’re here because we want you to know,” Harris said.
Though students shuffled in and out of the demonstration, the numbers grew throughout the duration of the event. People walking by engaged with the demonstrators, many of them choosing to join in.
"I'm holding back tears because it's so pathetic to have to stand here and shout that my life is worth as much as yours,” said Sumayya Ahmed, a graduate student who joined the protest on her way to the library.
The protestors closed the event by reading the stories behind the names they belted out for four and a half hours.
