The Power Behind The Path from Protest To Participation

By Tasha Dowbachuk|Published by, March 16 2021

In honor of Women’s History Month, Kean University’s students and staff are invited to view the virtual conversational event, “The Path from Protest To Participation”, featuring athletic activist and speaker, Toni-Smith Thompson on March 18th, 2021. 

The Women’s Herstory program will be hosted by The Human Rights Institute, The Department of Athletics, The Women and Gender Studies program and The Office of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion. The campus-wide 30 minute conversation and Q&A will take place on the livestream platform, Zoom with a focus to educate students on the importance of women in the social justice movement.

According to Defector, Smith Thompson’s time as a Manhattanville College basketball player gradually garnered attention when she turned her back during the national anthem for two months in 2003. Since graduation, she has built a career in addressing social justice issues through direct service, organizing and policy reform. 

Through her athletic activism, Smith Thompson has become a senior organizer with the New York Civil Liberties Union since 2011. Her primary focus is directed through launching campaigns to undo the systems of racial injustice in education alongside addressing segregated schools in New York, affirming students’ First Amendment right to engage in protests, and protect student privacy.

The event was created by Adam Hutchinson, Assistant Director of Athletics for Internal Operations, who has considered what role athletics played in advancing social justice while sitting on a panel in 2017. “I was struck by how little consideration fellow panelists were giving to Colin Kaepernick’s stated reasons for his protest, how little regard they had for the price he was paying, and to what extent his narrative had been hijacked by conservative talking points,” said Hutchinson. He continues by stating that the experience reminded him of articles he read about Toni-Smith Thompson which led towards his enthusiasm for asking Smith-Thompson to speak. 

As a former student protester himself thirty years ago, Hutchinson is acutely aware of the “what’s next” feeling after winning hard fought advances. His inspiration for the event stems from wanting young people to know [that] they are supported, their bravery is valued, their sacrifices recognized (because even free speech isn’t free), and wanting them to begin thinking about sustained engagement to consider how we all might benefit from hearing about Toni-Smith Thompson’s experiences.

“My hope is that Kean students and athletes will gain some perspective about using one’s platform to make one’s voice heard,” said Hutchinson. “As a forward facing institution that exists to shape the future, I hope all of us at Kean, student, faculty and staff, continue to think about how we can lend our efforts to bending the arc of the universe towards justice.”

The Herstory program will begin from 6 p.m. and conclude at 7:15 p.m. Those who are interested in attending the event can email The Human Rights Institute (humanrights@kean.edu) to receive the Zoom invitation link or RSVP through Cougar Link.

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