#BlackLivesMatter march & vigil at UR

On Saturday, October 18, 2014, a Black Lives Matter rally was held on the University of Rochester campus during Meliora Weekend. It was organized by B.L.A.C.K. (Building Leadership And Community Knowledge) and UR students.

Participants ended the march at the Douglass Leadership House on the campus where Makia Green and Natajah Roberts addressed those gathered. A four and half minute silent vigil was conducted to honor Mike Brown, while recognizing that law enforcement let his dead body lay in the open for four and half hours.

Mike Brown, an 18-year-old black man, was shot and killed by Darren Wilson, a white police officer on August 9, 2014 in Ferguson, Missouri, a suburb of St. Louis. B.L.A.C.K. coalesced around the murder of Brown and some of its delegates have been to Ferguson in order to participate in demonstrations and to build relationships with on the ground organizers there.

B.L.A.C.K. is a grassroots collective created to empower the Black community through education, awareness, leadership development, cooperative economics, social media, and tactful action in an effort to combat the many disparities caused by institutionalized racism. Through a unique focus on Black cultures, as opposed to race, the group strives to emphasize the value of Black lives and promote solidarity among peoples of the African diaspora. You can email them at: blackroccollective@gmail.com