Ruth Samuel, a journalism student at UNC, held a Nigerian flag as she stood in the Peace and Justice Plaza off Franklin Street. With both of her parents hailing from the country and many family members still there, she said the flag is an important symbol to her.

“It just means a lot,” said Samuel. “It’s one of the ties [to the country] I have besides my middle name, besides the food I eat at home.”

The UNC Black Congress, a student organization founded on Black activism, held a demonstration Sunday to show support for those in Nigeria and to denounce the recent police violence. Peaceful protests in the African country against the brutality of its Special Anti-Robbery Squad, or SARS, turned fatal last week. Government soldiers reportedly shot into a crowd at a toll plaza in the Nigerian state Lagos, killing at least 12 people, and more protestors have died in the following days.

Marching from the Stone Center through UNC campus to Franklin Street, dozens of Black Congress members and other students chanted for the end of such violence at the hands of police.

Samuel said the fight against such brutality, which saw renewed nationwide support this past summer following the deaths of Breonna Taylor and George Floyd, is a global one.

“At the Lekki Toll massacre,” she said, “the white [in the Nigerian flag] typically known for purity was covered with blood due to the at least 12 protestors who were killed. Bringing that [was] a sign of solidarity and also understanding that’s what I’m here for: for Nigerians on the continent, for Nigerians in the diaspora, but also for all Black people globally.”

In addition to discussing the global role of Africa, the Black Congress leaders also challenged UNC’s role in supporting anti-Black groups, individuals or decisions. Organizers advocated for the university to end partnerships with companies that profit from child labor in the country and to expand its study abroad and improve African studies programs.

“The lack of Black talent leading or participating in these study abroad programs only exemplifies UNC perpetuating a cycle of the white savior complex,” said one Black Congress leader, who asked not to be named. “While leeching off of these [resources] or information from the African American Studies Department, UNC not only furthers their white savior complex, but are parasitic in nature. You are stripping away voices from African countries by not acknowledging faults within your programs.”

Black Congress members also criticized UNC for the remaining building and street names honoring those with backgrounds in white supremacy and requested UNC Police Department have more transparency with student activists.

Samuel said she felt represented by student organizations like Black Congress by them acknowledging the violence in Nigeria, as well as addressing similar issues of oppression at UNC.

“This university is entrenched in anti-Blackness, from its founding,” Samuel said. “Slaves built the school, and [many] all over the country as well. Understanding this is not something far and distant, it’s very present, about human rights and how politics plays into that [is important.] This is all interconnected.”

UNC Black Congress also said it is raising money to send medical aid, self defense materials and more directly to protest groups in Africa.

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