Black Students at Alameda’s Encinal High Hold Silent Protest

Posted in Community, Education/Schools/Youth, Equal Rights/Equity, Ferguson/Black Lives Matter

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The Black Student Union (BSU) at Encinal High School in Alameda on Wednesday held a “Black Lives Matter” silent protest and lunchtime forum to stand in solidarity with the nationwide protests against grand jury decisions in the killings of Michael Brown in Ferguson, MO and Eric Garner in New York City.

“We believe there is a national, systemic bias regarding who lethal force is used against and how police-involved shootings are prosecuted,” said a written statement released by the BSU.

“These verdicts do not have to polarize our nation nor our (Encinal) community into a White vs. Black standoff,” according to the statement. “The diverse groups of people protesting in Oakland, Ferguson, New York and elsewhere, prove that citizens of all races and walks of life have a stake in the conversation about the often toxic relationship between law enforcement and communities of color.”

The protesters wore black and stood in silence, symbolizing “the silenced voices of Eric Garner, Tamir Rice, Trayvon Martin, Michael Brown, Andy Lopez, Michael Bell, Oscar Grant and many others,” the statement said.