Video: MSU Students Hold ‘Die-In’ Protest Against Police Brutality

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STARKVILLE, Miss. (WCBI) – Grand jury decisions to not indict police officers in the Eric Garner and Michael Brown cases have lead to protests across the nation in recent weeks. Monday afternoon students at Mississippi State University held their own peaceful protest to bring awareness to police brutality.

“The bottom line is we all matter. So coming together here is to show that we all matter. It’s not a black thing or a white thing, it’s a coming together, it’s a unity thing,” says Sanjaris Johnson, MSU’s NAACP Chapter President.

Students and community leaders gathered at MSU’s Colvard Student Union, dressed in all black, holding a “die-in”, to make a statement about injustice and police brutality.

Dr. Ravi Perry was among the students and joined the protesters because of his own experiences.

“I’m a black man who’s been stopped by police with guns drawn to my head. I think an awareness needs to be brought to the fact that too many black men are dying at the hand of police without even being given a chance to defend themselves,” says Perry.

Protesters say they want to see an America where all are treated equally and fairly.

“It’s unfair that my fellow Americans, no matter what skin color are targeted disproportionately by a police force that is hired to protect them. We pay their salaries. Our taxes pay these people and they’re killing black people disproportionately,” says MSU Political Science major, Alex Hughes.

“We have to make a change and the color of your skin shouldn’t determine whether you live or die,” says Savannah Stuart-Dahl, a MSU student who says she participated because she’s a concerned citizen.

After the “die-in” the group marched from the MSU campus to the intersection of Highway 12 and Spring Street, holding signs and chanting. More than 200 Participated in today’s protest.