By Abayomi Azikiwe
Editor, Pan-African News Wire
These photographs were taken at a public forum held on Thurs. Oct. 24, 2024 in Detroit.
This event followed the release of a public letter from the Michigan Chapter of the NCBL to the presidents of Wayne State University in Detroit and the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor.
The content of the letter challenged both institutions to uphold the first amendment rights of free speech and assembly in the United States. The administrations at WSU and U-M ordered the destruction of the encampments constructed in solidarity with the Palestinian people now undergoing a genocidal onslaught by the State of Israel backed by the U.S. government.
The students were demanding the full disclosure and disinvestment of all financial holdings with Tel Aviv and those conducting business with the occupation regime.
This NCBL event was co-chaired by four lawyers: Attys. Mark Fancher, Desiree Ferguson, Jeffrey Edison and Gerald Evelyn. Witnesses at the hearing included several activists who were victimized by the administrations and police repression.
There were also community members who spoke to condemn the attacks on the Palestinian solidarity movement.
Speakers at this hearing included: Salma Hamany and Josiah Walker of the Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP) at the U-M; Nuzmeyaa Abdrabboh, Jenna Skukkar, Dania Ayesh, Ridda Khan, Cidra Ezzedin of the SJP at WSU; Atteya Abdul and Jesse Estrada-White of Michigan State University (MSU); Atty. Nabih Ayab of the Arab American Civil Rights League and Ismail Noor of the U.S. Palestinian Community Network (USPCN).
Across the U.S. during the spring, demonstrations and encampments were held at over 100 campuses. A coordinated effort from the federal and local authorities resulted in the arrests of 3,000 people and the victimization of others through sanctions, expulsions and terminations from these institutions.
These manifestations are reflective of the burgeoning support for Palestine and the willingness of millions to express their beliefs within the public sphere.
(Photographs by Abayomi Azikiwe, Pan-African News Wire).
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