Walk to West Campus: Standing in Solidarity against Racism and Hate

Walk to West Campus: Standing in Solidarity Against Racism and Hate

Nia Wesley 

Students walk to West Campus – Nia Wesley

 Students of all races united on Oct. 2nd in protest of reoccurring racist and discriminatory acts in West Campus further known as “bleach bombing”.

Student walks through West Campus – Nia Wesley

Organized by former University of Texas at Austin student, Chas Moore, the march began at the MLK Statue on the UT campus near 22nd and Speedway. The march occasionally stopped at campus landmarks including the Barbara Jordan statue near the Texas Union and ending at 26 West Apartments.

Students gather at the Martin Luther King Statue – Nia Wesley

 Students marched in solidarity as dozens of local news stations documented chants urging for justice and an end to the hate in the predominantly white residential area. Several African American students shared incidents involving bleach-filled balloons plunged from stories above, demeaning racial slurs, and threatening exchanges through West Campus over the past couple of months.

Student marches with ‘Black Students United’ sign through West Campus – Nia Wesley

  While marching through West Campus, protesters were subject to hate from residents. Student’s flicked protestors off and many sororities and fraternities members stood on their porches in laughter often yelling back at protestors.

 

West Campus students observing the march – Nia Wesley

 The march sparked attention from national news organizations and the Austin Police Department is now investigating the incidents. The march also joined several students of different races against racial discrimination.