Grief, sadness, and anger hung heavy in the air of the Afro-American Cultural Center on April 21, as members of the University of Iowa’s Black Student Union stood by one another in the wake of the shooting on the Pedestrian Mall on April 19, injuring five.
Michael Hunte, a first-year student at the UI and member of the Black Student Union, found himself asking his friends why individuals were posting racist social media comments following the April 19 shooting that occurred on the Pedestrian Mall in Iowa City.
“Why? Why in this time do they choose to show racism?” Hunte said.
Black Student Union Co-President Tae’ Shaun Presswood, a third-year student at the university, said he wanted to give the community a space to reflect on their feelings toward the incident and the unfortunate comments affiliated with it, particularly those toward Black students.
Presswood said he has seen messages across social media platforms that were openly racist, including a response to the post the Black Student Union shared on April 20, with individuals commenting with hateful speech and racial slurs.
“Initially, we were sad because this is not the right time to kind of turn this into a racist rant,” Presswood said.
Presswood’s fellow co-president and fourth-year UI student, Mary Oriho, said in her personal experience, times of violence, such as the shooting that occurred at the PedMall, have long been associated with race.
“We all understand the rhetoric of pushing the narrative that the individuals who cause these harmful actions are associated with their race,” Oriho said.
Oriho said not only do Black students have to juggle their grievances during times of hardship, but they must also juggle racist attributes as well.
Oriho said there are many indirect outcomes, such as racist rhetoric and comments, that have come out of the incident.
“It is important we are allowing ourselves to feel what’s happening, lean on each other in times of hardship because there is this narrative being pushed out about accountability, taking responsibility for things that we have no control of our should be held accountable for,” Oriho said.
Nyankuer Arou, a second-year UI student and member of the Black Student Union, said everything that has transpired, in reference to the racist comments, since the incident, is “sickening and harmful.”
Anger surrounding a lack of response from the university about the comments fueled the discussion, with members expressing disappointment.
Arou said that by not addressing racist comments, the people making the comments are validated when the university remains quiet.
“It makes it seem like it is OK for them to continue to make these harmful comments towards a minority group,” Arou said.
Arou said she loves that Black students are able to find community within themselves, but that they should not have to.
Many members emphasized a need for gun reform and legislation surrounding gun carrying in the state.
Jace Mundt, a third-year UI student and executive member of the Black Student Union, said having a vote is important and ensuring that when elections are happening, individuals find out what people stand for and act on it.
“You have the right to use your voice and to put the people in charge who are going to fight for your safety, the safety of your community, the safety from gun violence,” Mundt said.
Mundt said safety is dependent on elected officials.
“A lot of times those people don’t understand the issues that are going on in the communities because they are so detached from individual communities,” Mundt said.
Presswood said the priority of this incident should always have been on the people hurt.
“Unfortunately, because there are people who are attacking Black students and trying to silence us, we have to take a stand, and we have to use our voice where it matters,” Presswood said.
Acknowledging her peers and fellow members, Oriho said their presence alone and being together with one another was power, and that it is enough.
“You belong here. This is our home. This is nobody else’s home but ours. We deserve to be in this space,” Oriho said. “We deserve to be represented, and we deserve to stand here and allow each other to grow without the negative connotations toward our community for events that we are not responsible for.”
