Jesuit University Students Respond to Recent Racial Violence

Editor’s Note: To better reflect the efforts of student organizers at Loyola University Maryland, the content of this post was amended on September 28, 2016. 

On Monday, September 27, 2016, Loyola University Chicago’s Black Cultural Center hosted a die-in and demonstration in response to the recent shootings in Charlotte, Tulsa, and throughout the U.S.

The Black community at Loyola University Chicago organized the action to increase campus community acknowledgment and awareness of issues surrounding racial violence and injustice.

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At Loyola University Maryland, students organized a two-day die-in demonstration on the campus quad that included speeches from student, faculty, and local community leaders. Loyola’s Chapel Choir, inspired by the actions of these student organizers, performed a song of solidarity with black communities across the country and victims of racial injustice.

Students sang “Ukuthula”, a South African apartheid-era Zulu song:

Loyola students for and with others. Prayers for the victims of police brutality. pic.twitter.com/syD57OKbEI

— Messina at LoyolaMD (@MessinaAtLoyola) September 23, 2016

(loosely translated)
Peace on this troubled world
Through the blood of Jesus, we shall see peace…
Redemption,
Faith,
Praise,
Victory,
Consolation,
Peace.

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Students and faculty gathered in Georgetown University’s Red Square on Friday, September 23, 2016 for a moment of silence, prayer, sharing, and reflection. “The goal of the vigil…was to create a space for sharing that could foster healing and community,” wrote Jonese Austin, a Georgetown University student.  “We wanted to bring attention to all that’s going on and how it has affected us as students on Georgetown’s campus.”

 

Community members demonstrated against police violence in Red Square on Friday in light of recent police shootings. https://t.co/wGEdKCHPdR

— The Hoya (@thehoya) September 27, 2016