Nicole Knight, left, and Regina Joseph, right, at SDS rally to raise awareness about police brutality.
Students for a Democratic Society gathered Tuesday afternoon at Florida State University to peacefully protest police brutality.
Police brutality has turned into a constant topic among individuals across the nation, more specifically the black community.
In the most recent cases, SDS focused on the case of 12-year-old Tamir Rice and 28-year-old Sandra Bland.
Rice was gunned down by a Cleveland police officer in 2014 after his toy gun was mistaken for a real gun and Bland died in 2015 at Waller County Jail in Texas while in police custody after a traffic stop.
Although no charges has been brought to the Tamir Rice case, Brian Encinia, a police officer in the Sandra Bland case was indicted on
Students advocate for justice.
perjury charges.
SDS took a stance in the Free Speech Zone on FSU’s campus with about 25 students in attendance.
The rally was led by Regina Joseph, a third-year political and science sociology student at FSU. Joseph described her concern on police brutality apprehensively.
“You never know when someone is going to be that next hashtag; whether it’s going to be me, or my brother or my dad,” she said. “If you don't actually speak out, then the issues you care about will never actually be heard and how to make a difference; people don’t know it actually exist.”
Nikkita Sims, a third-year marketing student at FSU wishes more could be done about police brutality.
“My heart goes out to everyone involved and affected. It's too common, nothing is being done about it, and it makes me angry,” she said.
She encourages everyone to take action instead of going to social media to talk about it because putting your words into action can have a higher profit than simply tweeting about it.
Nicole Knight, a first-year student who is undecided of her major at FSU is an advocate for change when it comes to shedding light on the issue.
“I think more when it comes to people I know whether it’s friends or family,” she said. “They are typically ignorant to this or to the cause so I try to expose them to the the details of what’s happening.”
Students ended the rally with an empowering call of action to unite with one another to raise awareness of this issue. Through call and response chants, members of SDS encouraged attendees to stop police crimes and fight for justice.
For more information about SDS and what they stand for, visit Tallahassee SDS on Facebook.