On Friday, Columbia University Apartheid Divest (CUAD) held a protest calling for an end to police presence at Columbia, the opening of the College Walk gates, and a “campus and community that is safe and free for all.”

CW: mentions of violence.

On Friday, Columbia University Apartheid Divest (CUAD), We The People, and Uptown for Palestine held a protest calling attention to police brutality, white supremacy, and racial justice followed by a teach-in on Black and Palestinian solidarity. Together, the protest and teach-in represented “a day of love and rage for Jordan Neely, Robert Brooks, and all victims of white supremacy,” according to an Instagram post announcing the event. 

The protest began at the Sundial at about 3 pm, where a group of protesters assembled wearing masks and keffiyehs. Some members of the group held Palestinian flags while others held signs bearing the name Jordan Neely. Neely was a 30-year-old street performer who was placed in a chokehold by former US Marine Daniel Penny after yelling in a New York subway car and was later pronounced dead. Penny was recently acquitted of charges, but the story has sparked a larger conversation about mental health awareness and treatment.

One protester stood on the Sundial with a megaphone, leading the group in a series of chants including “Say his name Jordan Neely, justice for Jordan Neely.” Another held a large paper mache pig head wearing a hat that read “NYPD.” At about 3:20 pm, a series of speakers took turns making statements.

The first speaker began by drawing parallels between the lynchings of the Jim Crow era and modern-day hate crimes, saying “Black lives were being lynched then and we are being lynched now.” The speaker then proceeded to read the names of people who had been killed at the hands of law enforcement and other state actors including George Floyd and Brianna Taylor, remarking that “these are the names we know of.”

The speaker touched briefly on the conversation around mental health that surrounded the death of Jordan Neely, saying “the US government would rather send $17.9 billion to a Zionist entity, rather than use it towards mental health services like it was supposed to go to.” They referenced the building of police academies, describing them as “cop cities” and “pig killing playgrounds,” and asserting that they are “only used to better murder Black and brown people.”

They then spoke about the University’s relationship with Public Safety and the NYPD, which they said “only serves to repress [their] movements” and makes Columbia “complicit in the ongoing genocide of Palestinians abroad and Black people in this country.”

The speaker concluded their statement with a list of demands for the University, all of which surrounded their broader call for “radical change.” The demands included the abolition of the NYPD, no police on campus, an end to the gentrification of and University involvement in Harlem, and the opening of campus gates. 

One person standing apart from the main crowd interjected multiple times, calling for “safety for all students” and “safety for Israelis and Palestinians.” Neither the speaker nor the crowd acknowledged their statements. The individual ultimately walked away, yelling once more that safety must be for “all or none.”

The chant that followed highlighted Jordan Neely, Sonya Massey, who was shot in July in an exchange with police officers over a pot of hot water, and Robert Brooks, who died in December at Marcy Correctional Facility in Oneida County, New York. Other chants included “No justice, no peace, fuck these racist-ass police,” and “Ain’t no power like the power of the people ‘cause the power of the people don’t stop.”

A second speaker took the megaphone and spoke about systemic racism, alleging that “whether hidden or in full view of the public, the state has always worked toward the systemic execution of Black people in this country.”

“The system is not broken,” the speaker said, “it is working exactly as intended.” They then pivoted to the importance of student action and community organization, stating that “Columbia has a record of losing against committed organizers,” and “if something can be built, it can also be dismantled.”

After repeating several similar chants, one organizer took the megaphone to give the crowd logistical information. They informed the crowd that demonstrators would walk to Marcus Garvey Park in Harlem to attend a teach-in about Black and Palestinian solidarity. There, organizers would have hot beverages and would be collecting winter clothing to distribute to various mutual aid groups. 

The group exited campus through the 116th and Amsterdam gates and walked north. NYPD vehicles lined Amsterdam and a group of about 20 police officers walked behind the protesters. The protesters continued to chant as one organizer played a drum. As they proceeded, some members placed stickers on parking meters and bus ticket kiosks reading “Justice for Jordan Neely.”

All photos via Bwog Staff