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#stand4somethingorfall4anything #tbt #mikebrownprotest #rbg #doingthework

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"Our speaking out will irritate some people, get us called bitchy or hypersensitive and disrupt some dinner parties. And then our speaking out will permit other women to speak, until laws are changed and lives are saved and the world is altered forever. Next time, ask: What's the worst that will happen? Then push yourself a little further than you dare. Once you start to speak, people will yell at you. They will interrupt you, put you down and suggest it's personal. And the world won't end. And the speaking will get easier and easier. And you will find you have fallen in love with your own vision, which you may never have realized you had. And you will lose some friends and lovers, and realize you don't miss them. And new ones will find you and cherish you." -Audre Lorde

On November 25, 2014, a group of about 450 Rutgers students took to the sidewalks in protest of the Michael Brown verdict, chanting "Hey! Hey! Ho-ho! These killers cops have got to go" and "Hands up! Don't shoot!" amongst other things. The purpose of this protest was to draw attention to the unjust U.S. judicial system. How can a policeman, who is by law supposed to protect the citizens, feel it is his duty to shoot and kill an unarmed 18 year old because of a mere scuffle with him? More than anything, how can a jury of 9 votes justify this killing by acquitting the murderer? It is unfair that the family of Mike Brown received no sort of justice or compensation for the murder of their soon to have been college student. This is not the first time the court system had screwed over a black family. The Trayvon Martin trial had turned out the same way. However, protests like the ones done at Rutgers University and elsewhere around the nation bring attention to the issue and are the gradual beneficiaries of change. Yet, according to poet and activist Audre Lorde, with protest for change, there will always remain outside people who are irritated by others speaking out.

The Rutgers students got a taste of the irritation of outside people on November 25th. This irritation was noticed after the 450 Rutgers students had taken the sidewalks, marching from the Douglass Student Center in Douglass Campus to the College Ave Brower Commons. November 25th had been a particularly busy day it seemed. There was a lot of traffic and the Rutgers buses were coming exceptionally slower than usual. Because of this inconvenience, a plethora of irritated Rutgers students took to social media, bashing the protest and saying things such as "Why are they marching in the streets, yelling stupid words for a stupid cause when I am trying to go to class? They are making me late!" or "Black people are always trying to be a part of a cause and make something out of nothing. This protest is dumb". Yet, despite the bitterness of outside people, Audre Lord urges protesters to continue to protest for what they believe in. According to her, speaking out would "permit other[s] to speak, until laws are changed and lives are saved and the world is altered forever. What's the worst that can happen? [People should] push [themselves] a little further than [they] dare. Once [people] start to speak, [others] will yell at [them]. They will interrupt [them], put [them] down and suggest it's personal. And the world won't end". It is no surprise that with protest comes hate from outside people who are indifferent to others' causes. However, it is highly essential that protesters, especially nonviolent and peaceful protesters, keep to their campaign because inspite of all of the hate they are thrown at, they will always gain more supporters and the publicity they need will spark a change to happen. The worst thing that can happen is that others are irritated by the protest, but the best thing that can happen is change.

drcknowledgeandpower #section22 @CassandraOgbozor iamcassieo18