What Happened When Two Students, One Black and One White, Participated in a Peaceful Protest [View all]

[sheshe2]

We are two students -- one black, one white -- at Union Theological Seminary, an institution historically and presently committed to fighting against injustice through faith and action. We were outraged by the non-indictment in the case of Eric Garner, which is only the most recent example of our law enforcement's lack of accountability for violent action, particularly when said violence is committed against communities of color.


On Friday night, we participated in a peaceful protest march calling for change. Together we lay in Macy's, in Grand Central, and on the wet, cold ground of Bryant Park. Together we marched through the streets of our city, demanding that justice be served against those sworn to protect and serve when they so egregiously violate this promise. The march ended on the FDR when we stood together, arm-in-arm, as riot police charged.

We linked arms to show that neither of us stood alone. We linked our arms to show our solidarity in the fight against injustice, police brutality and the slaying of black bodies. We loudly proclaimed that black lives matter.

Up to this point in our story we acted identically, we acted in unison and we committed the same acts of civil disobedience. It is at point in the story, however, that our narratives sharply diverged. Ironically so, as this treatment only underscored the unfortunate truth we had taken to the streets to protest: black and white bodies are not treated equally.

As a line of riot cops approached, two officers broke off and headed directly toward us. Both of them went after the black one of us, Shawn, forcefully ripping us apart. A few seconds later an officer grabbed Ben, the white one of us, and threw him to the ground.

Then the officer leaned over and whispered in Ben's ear, "Just get out of here."

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