On Thursday, October 13th from 8:30- 10:00p.m., the department of Cultural and Communication Studies will be hosting the first “Speak Solidarity” event in the SNU library coffee shop.
Dr. Gina Weaver, a professor of English, says the inspiration for the event came after the death of Terence Crutcher, who was killed in Tulsa several weeks ago. After talking to other faculty members and students, she and others felt this was an issue they had to address .
She said “I had talked to Michelle Bowie. I was actually asking her if she knew of anything happening in the city- any demonstrations we could participate in – we were both feeling like we needed to do something and so we thought, ‘ I guess we could do something here.’”
That “something” would become an event described as an opportunity to “remember and stand witness to those who have lost their lives.” The purpose of this event is as follows:
“In a time when lives seem disposable and questions seem to far outnumber answers, we come together to give voice to those deep places inside us. We speak of fears, doubts, anger, oppression, hopes, longings, hurts, forgiveness, faith, justice, what we understand, and what we can never understand… We come together as ONE campus community committed to listening to MANY voices. You are invited to speak solidarity by lending your voice or by lending your ear.”
Dr. Weaver said this event was necessary for several reasons: “One is to feel like we are doing something and also to show our students of color that we care about this really deeply and want to show those students that we are with them-or trying to be with them as much as we can- and obviously without having to experience the same things minorities are going through in this country right now and at all times. And also to just bring awareness.”
She went on to say, “It is going to be time to stand witness to what’s happening right now- and what has happened, historically- and what’s continuing to happen. I don’t mean to make it sound like recent police violence against minorities is anything new, it’s not.” She concluded by saying that all are welcome to both share and listen.
This event is open to all SNU students, and alumni, with its main purpose being to provide a safe space to share openly in the form of poetry, song, or prose, as well as to educate, make aware, and hear from one another- listening and learning from each others’ heartbreaks.
[author image=”http://echo.snu.edu/wp-content/uploads/2014/01/IMG_2377-150×150.jpg”]
Alina Scott, Staff Photographer
Alina is a history major and English minor here at SNU. She is originally from Belize, C.A., and loves reading books, studying history and all things Abraham Lincoln. She has worked as a U.S. history tutor and after grad school plans to become a college history professor. [/author]