UNC Black Student Groups Lead March Across Campus, Through Chapel Hill

What began as a rally on UNC’s south campus on Friday afternoon ended as a march in downtown Chapel Hill by hundreds of demonstrators.

The UNC Black Congress and Black Student Movement organized an event to denounce white supremacy, speak out against intolerance of others and to show support of African Americans during a period of unrest.

The event started with an acknowledgement of Breonna Taylor, a black woman fatally shot by Louisville police officers in March. Friday would have been Taylor’s birthday, with many of the organizers and protesters dressing in purple in her honor.

Throughout the afternoon, demonstrators chanted her name and spoke out against police violence. Chants of “say her name” followed by “Breonna Taylor” were shouted as the demonstrators marched from the SASB Plaza to South Building, UNC’s administrative building.

While there, speakers also criticized the university for its ties to white supremacists and condemned leadership for failure of equitably supporting African American students. Both Black Congress and Black Student Movement members urged the university to work equally with them and to allow each group to control their own narratives when partnering on projects.

Chris Suggs, a senior advisor for the UNC Black Student Movement, said the university only recognizes black students’ struggles with surface-level acknowledgements.

“UNC may have black out their social media pages,” he said to the crowd, referencing the #blackouttuesday online campaign. “But they also continue to black out and tokenize black students. They’ve never stood up for us in the right ways.”

Demonstrators gather on Polk Place in front of UNC’s South Building on Friday, June 5.

Suggs also reflected on the university’s history of being constructed by slaves and criticized them for having few recognitions to those efforts while having a Confederate monument on campus for years.

“UNC would be nothing without the black students, black staff members, black coaches and more,” said Suggs. “UNC would also be nothing without our black ancestors who built this university. It’s past time for UNC to recognize its history of white supremacy.”

After stopping at South Building, the march then continued north to East Franklin Street. Demonstrators stopped traffic and walked west before turning onto Columbia Street and East Rosemary Street. The crowd eventually returned to the Peace and Justice Plaza on East Franklin Street, while the Town of Chapel Hill worked to detour traffic around the closed section.

A Chapel Hill Police Department spokesperson said the organizers had not contacted the town and the department did not expect to be directly involved since the protest was planned for UNC campus. On Wednesday, a similar protest in Chapel Hill led demonstrators down Franklin Street and Cameron Avenue, with Chapel Hill Police blocking traffic throughout.

Demonstrators with the UNC Black Student Movement and Black Congress march down East Rosemary Street on Friday, June 5.

The protest wrapped up at the public plaza with participants sharing personal stories of injustices and frustrations of the treatment of African Americans by law enforcement. Organizers ended it with a chant about fighting for freedom and by singing ‘Happy Birthday’ to honor Taylor.

The Town of Chapel Hill shared a message at 5:41 p.m. saying all roads closed due to the protest had been reopened.

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