A lot has happened in 2020. Besides being an election year, we’ve got a pandemic looming over all our heads, which has pretty much stopped life as we knew it.
In late May, George Floyd was murdered by Minneapolis police officers. The video of former officer Derek Chauvin kneeling on Floyd’s neck went viral, reigniting energy and turning international attention to the Black Lives Matter movement. While the Black Lives Matter movement did not originate in 2020 and the terminology of “Black Lives Matter” was coined recently in 2013, the movement is a response to hundreds of years of systemic suppression. People were reasonably outraged after watching the viral video, and while in the past there had been vast physical demonstrations and protests, many people wondered how they could show their support for the movement while also keeping themselves and others safe in the midst of the pandemic.
Jessica Goldson, a junior at NSU and the events planning chair for the Black Student Union, explained how there are multiple ways to show your support while staying home. She also explained that if you want to do more, there is always more work to be done.
“Voting is big. Your voice really does matter, and by voting you can choose the people who are making these laws that enforce injustices against minorities and remove them from office…” said Goldson. “You can sign petitions, because our legislators see those petitions and see all of our signatures. Our hard work doesn’t go without notice,”
Jamalmesh Noel, also a junior at NSU and the current president of the Black Student Union, agreed that there are many ways to be supportive from home without physically going to demonstrations.
“Activism isn’t just about going out in the streets and being there physically. There’s many different forms of activism. It could be something as little as writing a social media post, writing letters to your state representatives or donating to different Black organizations. However you can get active with this movement, go and do it,” said Noel.
If you do choose to show up physically and go out to protest, there are ways to do it safely. Noel emphasized the importance of wearing personal protection.
“Wear a mask. Keep a mask over your face. Don’t show up without a mask. Bring some hand sanitizer and bring a mask. It is extremely important. This is serious: wear a mask,” said Noel.
“You can try to safely social distance; I know it’s kind of hard in a really big crowd and emotions are riling up. You want to group together with people that are like minded, but just try to keep that six feet between [yourself and others],” Goldson suggested.
If you do choose to go out and protest in person, make sure to try and not to touch everything and wash your hands.
No matter how you choose to show up, it’s important to stay active and up to date with issues affecting your community and peers. Doing so not only makes you a more well rounded person, but it allows you to make informed choices about your representation in government and broadcast what kind of beliefs you support.
“It’s important to stay active because there’s a lot of injustices going on. These things aren’t just starting to happen right now, it’s a systemic thing. These things have been going on for generations. The moment we stop fighting injustices, they will compound. I feel like if you see an injustice happen and you don’t do anything about it, you’re just as guilty as the people committing the injustices,” said Noel.
