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The Penn

INDIANA TEENAGERS ORGANIZE PEACEFUL DEMONSTRATION

SPECIAL COVERAGE: BLACK LIVES MATTER MOVEMENT | PAGES 2-5

FRIDAY, JUNE 19, 2020

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Editor-in-Chief: Steven Langdon Jr. – S.Langdon@iup.edu News Editor: Heather Bair – zzzx@iup.edu

‘Right Side of History to be on’

(Paul Marchwinski/The Penn)

By The Penn’s estimates, around 150 demonstrators, mostly teenagers and young adults, took part in a peaceful Black Lives Matter march in downtown Indiana on June 3. After the march, a small group of 20-30 demonstrators (pictured above) returned to the starting point at Fourth and Philadelphia Streets and continued to protest peacefully into the evening hours.

Indiana teens rally local community, organize peaceful protest STEVEN LANGDON JR. Editor-in-Chief S.Langdon@iup.edu @ThePennIUP

Organized by a pair of Indiana County teenagers, a Black Lives Matter protest took place in downtown Indiana on Wednesday, June 3, during which demonstrators peacefully marched down the Philadelphia Street sidewalks side-by-side with the borough’s police chief.

Totaling about 150 by The Penn’s estimates, the demonstrators marched four and a half blocks – or about a half-mile – on the

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north sidewalk of Philadelphia Street. Their starting point was the Rite Aid parking lot at North Fourth and Philadelphia Streets, and they converged at the Indiana County Courthouse at 825 Philadelphia Street.

The march was part of the greater, nationwide Black Lives Matter movement that has been reignited since the death of George Floyd while in Minneapolis police custody on May 25. In the days since the Indiana protest, 27-year-old Rayshard Brooks was killed by Atlanta police on June 12, becoming the latest victim on the long list of unarmed black Americans killed by police, further fueling the cause.

One of the organizers, 15-year-old Amara Moore, said the idea behind the march was to raise awareness in the Indiana community of the longstanding racial inequalities black Americans experience.

“It wasn’t just for George Floyd or the racist cops,” said Moore, a ninth-grader to be at Indiana High in the fall. “It was for equality for all black and colored people because there’s more than just racist cops. There’s racist people everywhere, in school districts, in businesses, so we just need to get the word out. Black lives do matter, and colored lives matter.”

Moore and friend Rebecca Niel imagined

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the idea of a protest somewhat on a whim two days earlier. The power of social media took care of getting the word out.

“My friend, Becca Niel, she’s in seventh grade going to eighth, she was like, ‘Hey, so we should have a march since they’re not having one,’” Moore said. “And I was like, ‘That’s a good idea.’ And then me and her started just putting stuff together. She made a flier (for Instagram) … and we just started posting it on everything. A ton of people just spread it around ... and then everyone just kind of showed up.”

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“THIS IS the right side of history to be on. Black lives matter. Not all lives matter until black lives do, too.”

Indiana community turns out to protest

Continued from Page 2 Cybil E. Moore, Amara’s mother and an IUP alumna, was encouraged and saddened at the same time by her daughter’s and Niel’s idea of the march.

“I’m proud of her, but the fact that it’s 2020 and my daughter felt the need to do this at the age of 15 lets me know that as much as we’ve put into the work of peace, of equity, there’s still so much more to go, and that the struggle continues,” she said, holding back tears.

Notably, the PNC Bank branch in the 600 block of Philadelphia Street had its ATM removed and boarded up its windows prior to the march, the only business along the march route to do so.

The demonstrators, most of them appearing to be teenagers and young adults, began their march at 2 p.m. At the conclusion, they gathered in unity at the steps to the courthouse for about 30 minutes before dispersing without conflict around 3 p.m.

During the march, traffic on Philadelphia Street proceeded as normal, although officers of the Indiana Borough Police Department directed traffic at the intersections to allow the demonstrators to safely cross.

In an act of solidarity and support, Chief of Police Justin Schawl was seen walking alongside the demonstrators between Sixth and Seventh Streets. There was a police presence at the courthouse, though no show of force was exhibited by the Indiana authorities.

Afterwards, a small group of 20-30 demonstrators returned to the starting point of the march on the corner of North Fourth and Philadelphia and gathered peacefully into the evening.

It’s unclear how many IUP students took part in the protest, but The Penn spoke with one current student and one recent graduate who were part of the group that remained at North Fourth and Philadelphia late into the afternoon.

Gabby Shick (junior, psychology), a native of Pittsburgh who lives in Indiana year-round, said she felt compelled to join the protest.

“Obviously, it’s a huge problem

in America right now, racism is a huge problem,” she said. “This is the right side of history to be on. Black lives matter. Not all lives matter until black lives do, too. It’s just important to me. It’s something I really believe in. I walked here alone to be a part of this.”

So did Tea Capps, who graduated in May with a degree in English. A native of Waynesboro in eastern Pennsylvania, Capps remains in Indiana until her lease is up and works at the Rite Aid where the march began.

“When we found out about this whole protest happening, all my co-workers … they were genuinely terrified,” Capps said, “and they made us take out the cigarettes and hide them and we had to lock all the (cash) drawers and hide them. And it was just that fear of something that’s supposed to be a peaceful thing that really didn’t sit right with me. I just didn’t like it.

“So the idea of people protesting a black man being shot, is like why is that terrifying to people?”

Capps continued. “And I didn’t like customers coming up to me at the register asking me why we’re not putting a stop to this, how are we going to let them do that. Like, this isn’t right, you guys are going to just be OK with it, and it was all that display of fear and for some reason, anger, that made me want to come out and support it.”

At its core, the Black Lives Matter movement seeks racial equality for all black citizens and has continued to regain momentum in the three weeks since Floyd’s death. According to the latest estimates by USA Today, updated June 18, rallies and protests have taken place “in at least 1,700 places so far, large and small, across all 50 states.”

Because of the efforts of Moore and Niel, Indiana is also on that list.

“There was people from Latrobe and there was people from all around Indiana County,” Moore said. “It was good.”

“There’s people supporting, and I think it’s good,” Shick said.

“No matter how many people are here, it’s a good turnout. People are here.”

(Paul Marchwinski/The Penn) Friends and schoolmates in the Indiana Area School District, 15-year-old Amara Moore (top) and 14-year-old Becca Niel (bottom left) organized a Black Lives Matter demonstration in downtown Indiana on June 3.

Photo gallery on Page 4.

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June 19, 2020

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(Paul Marchwinski/The Penn) TOP LEFT: Demonstrators held up signs and broke into chants of “Black Lives Matter!” and “I Can’t Breathe!” at the intersection of North Fourth and Philadelphia Streets into the early evening. MIDDLE LEFT: Shreya Bharadwaj, 20, left, and Prihana Shetty, 22, both of Indiana, came out to show their support. BOTTOM LEFT: The PNC Bank branch in the 600 block of Philadelphia Street removed its ATM and boarded up its windows prior to the march. No property damage occured during the protest. RIGHT: Indiana resident Tevin Belleville, top, 21, and IUP junior Gabby Shick, of Pittsburgh, joined the peaceful demonstration.

Opinion (Facebook) The Black Lives Matter movement isn’t new, but it has regained momentum since the death of George Floyd while in Minneapolis police custody on May 25 and more recently, the death of Rayshard Brooks at the hands of the Atlanta police on June 12.

Racism is at the root of much larger issues

As we reflect on the state of our country this Juneteenth, it’s time to stop thinking our problems will disappear. What everyone is experiencing now is years of Black America getting pushed down. If you cannot see this then maybe the riots are opening your eyes.

This movement feels different from what we have seen in the past.

Throughout U.S. history, numerous protests and riots have occurred.

But this is the first time since the anti-Vietnam War movement of the late 1960s that a mainstream movement is being led by the younger generations.

The time to stop treating the younger generation as though they don’t know anything. This younger generation could change the world in ways we never thought possible is now.

How could they notice this unrest but the older generations cannot?

Let’s stop giving those older generations excuses.

‘It’s OK for them because they grew up when racism was at a high.’

‘It’s OK because they are from rural areas.’

Once again, stop giving them reasons to act the way they do. And if you are saying these things, you are part of a bigger problem.

These protests have been revolutionary. Around the world people are battling against everything and anything racist. While we at The Penn do not condone vandalizing property, we do agree with the

Opinion

peaceful protests.

How did we get here? It’s pretty easy to see it’s a result of decades of black Americans being oppressed.

And now more than ever, it seems to stem from the top.

It has become apparent that our President cannot – and perhaps doesn’t want to – resolve the problems in this country. A country divided has only grown more apart and longstanding racial inequalities continue, even as Americans nationwide are shouting for change at the top of their lungs.

Take the disparity in household incomes, for example.

In 2018, the median income of white, non-Hispanic households was $70,642, while it was $41,361 for black Americans, according to the U.S. Census.

There’s a direct correlation between these figures and education.

We all know college is not cheap, and it’s even less affordable for black Americans. Furthermore, prospective college students from low-income homes don’t always qualify for student loans, and thus cannot afford to continue their education.

How is this relevant? Many workplaces will not hire anyone without a college education, a dumb concept in itself. So now black Americans are left to work the jobs that pay minimum wage, further perpetuating the cyclical nature of poverty.

Worst of all is the fact that our government seems to prefer the status quo. At least, that’s the per-

ception in many people’s eyes, and you know what they say: Perception is reality.

Far too many politicians in Washington, D.C. are more worried about where their next vacation will be than ending the systemic injustices that have re-energized the Black Lives Matter movement.

Black Americans aren’t asking for special treatment or to be treated better than anyone else. They’re just asking to be treated the same and offered the same opportunities as everyone else to succeed.

Let’s stop and think about the IUP campus for a minute. We’ve all seen minorities thriving on our campus, and it’s empowering to see. Of course everyone wants to succeed, but if they are not in a thriving environment it becomes more difficult.

Which brings us to the next issue, which has been overlooked much too long: Police officers have too much power. They are to protect us, not kill us. They cannot play the part of Grim Reaper.

We’ve seen far too many instances in which officers don’t do their job properly, overstep the rule and use excessive force when there is no immediate threat to their safety. The internet is rife with videos documenting these incidents.

So when is it going to be enough?

Bad police work affects everyone.

It does not matter if you are black, white or even indigo, this problem

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could affect you. Of course, this does not go for every officer because there are plenty of examples of good officers in the world.

But the bigger issue at hand is how officers handle stressful situations. Ask any officer and they will say, their first goal when arriving on scene is to defuse the situation. Far too often, we see them escalating the situation with unnecessary and/ or excessive force.

That being said, there needs to be more restrictions on officers.

Some officers work upwards of 10- to 12-hour days. Some may say, “That isn’t a lot.” But when you consider the stresses of the job, yes, that is a lot. And maybe that’s why they seem to struggle defusing situations.

There needs to be restrictions on the hours that they work and what is deemed excessive behavior.

Maybe they need more training and once-a-month psychological evaluations.

The last thing that needs to happen is that we need to see more accountability for officers that do wrong. Any officer that has used excessive force needs to be disciplined, no two ways about it.

Even police officers aren’t above the law. At least that’s what we’ve been told. Yet, we can all recall cases where officers got off scot-free because of their positions.

Almost daily, we hear stories of black U.S. citizens who are treated less-than by the police just because

of their skin color. A white person gets a ticket for a traffic violation, while a black person is likely asked to step out of the car for the same violation.

Take the death of Rayshard Brooks in Atlanta, on June 12. He was the subject of an investigation into a potential DUI. Is a DUI a crime? Yes. Is it a crime a 27-year-old man should have lost his life over? Absolutely not.

Any officer that has killed another human without just cause should be in jail, no questions asked. Just like you and I would be.

Everyone should be tried the same. A crime is a crime.

Kudos to the younger generations for seeing the problems many generations could not. Do not march in these protests because you want to look like the good guy.

March because it’s the right thing to do. March because these problems should not exist in the “Land of the Free.”

Black Lives Matter and if you do not see it that way, then you are what is wrong with this country.

Stop looking at the mirage set up.

It is time to unite as a country to stand for what is wrong whether you are old or young. Everyone deserves the same rights and same opportunities. After all, the country stands for freedom.

Brought to you

By The Penn Staff

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