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The University of Oregon Hosts Event Discussing Racism and Justice

University of Oregon

On Wednesday, the University of Oregon hosted “I Can’t Breathe:” A Conversation Starter about Racism, Justice and Love. In the wake of the recent grand jury decisions in Ferguson and New York, the meeting was called to address racism and what can be done on the UO campus and in the community.

Dozens of groups packed the Knight Library Browsing room discussing issues surrounding racism and the police and actions that can be taken by the community. More than 100 people attended. The office of Equity and Inclusion facilitated conversations about institutionalized racism, media coverage surrounding protests and the presence of black men in the community.

Sara Clark, a university employee, discussed her thoughts with Interim President Scott Coltrane and a small group.

Clark: “There’s some sort of systematic issue that needs to be addressed. And I’m not sure exactly how we address that, but it seems like the system itself isn’t functioning properly to treat our citizens and residents equally.”

Howard University freshman Kwadwo Assensoh  attended because he’s concerned about the killings.

Assensoh: “It’s very important to me and it’s inspiring because there’s so many people from different backgrounds like police officers, students, just plain community members in general, and I think it’s very important for us to talk and come to conclusions about what we can do.”

Dr. Karla Kennedy with the UO School of Journalism says the event was important.

Kennedy: “What it means to me to be able to participate in such an event is number one, is it’s just awesome that we are having the conversation. Number two, is that we’re having the conversation with some goal of moving in a positive direction.”

She was in Miami during the 1980 riots that followed the death of Arthur McDuffie. He was beaten to death by police after a high-speed chase and the officers were acquitted.

Kennedy: “But it was a strong awakening, and we don’t want to see that ever happen again. And I could feel it when they talked about Ferguson. It’s like the hairs on the back of my neck stood up. I was like I know what they feel, I was there.”

Students, professors, and community leaders presented their ideas to the crowd about how to continue the conversation about race. Several upcoming events about racial justice are scheduled in the new year in the community and on the UO campus.