BREAKING NEWS: Kean Joins the Protest

By Nicole Brown

Kean University’s faculty and students protested on campus after the grand jury’s decision not to indict the police officers in the death of Eric Garner last night (Dec. 3)

The protest began around 10:45 and about 150 protesters who were mainly students circled the campus including the Dorm quad, Library and the University Center chanting “no justice, no sleep” and “black lives matter.”

Garner, who was married and the father of six children, died after police grabbed him allegedly for selling single cigarettes from a pack near the Staten Island ferry in July.  A widely-circulated video captured the incident and showed a policeman putting him in a choke-hold as he struggled, yelling “I can’t breathe.” The autopsy proved that he died from a choke-hold and compression on his chest.

According to one of the organizers, Charles Curtis iii, the primary objective of the protest was to bring awareness to the Kean community and remind themselves that the African American spirit has not been broken.

“We are still segregated,” said Curtis iii. “Things are keeping us down. We are the next generation and we are conscious of the system.”

Jasmine Pringle, an early childhood and Criminal Justice major said it is obvious that black people are separated and treated differently.

“The laws were not written for black people,” said Pringle. “Therefore, the law cannot protect those it was not written for.”

Curtis iii said that the protest was organized through social media and it will remain peaceful. Another protest is scheduled for next Thursday at college hour.

“We will continue to protest until we see results, until the police officer is indicted for murder,” said Curtis iii. “We want to spread it, we have been dealing with this for too long.”