On Tuesday, Nov. 25, senior Azani Creeks gathered with al­most 200 protesters near the Dallas Police De­partment headquarters. The crowd had assembled in an outcry against the contro­versial decision made by the jury the day before to not indict police officer Darren Wilson, who shot unarmed 18-year-old Michael Brown.  The jury reached their deci­sion after two days of reviewing extensive evidence, stating that they could not charge Wilson with a probable cause to arrest him. Creeks, who did not agree with the jury’s decision, joined the protest.

“I went with my dad, and we chanted things like ‘hands up, don’t shoot’ and ‘no justice, no peace,’” Creeks said.

Creeks attended the prayer vigil with local pastors that day at 5 p.m., and the actual protest be­gan at 7 p.m., followed by speakers.

Other students share Creeks’ beliefs. Senior and Student Diversity Board Chair Anesu Nyatanga supported the protests because they “draw awareness to the problems and struggles that people are facing. When we think about any major change or any major shift in our society or our culture, it’s been brought around by protests.”

The main focus of the rally wasn’t solely focused on Fergu­son. According to Creeks, the protest was also “about the in­justices inflicted by DPD. There have been 70 unarmed people killed by police in Dallas since 2003, and none have been indict­ed.” Creeks added that it was im­portant to note that the Ferguson case was “not an isolated inci­dent.” Most recently, Daniel Pan­taleo, a white New York police of­ficer, was not indicted by the jury after using a chokehold on Eric Garner, an unarmed black man.

Upper School Guidance Coun­selor Dr. Margaret Morse, who also sponsors the Student Diversity Board, said that “there are a lot of strong emotions associated with the Brown and Garner cases. I think that it would be good as a commu­nity to talk about what this means nationally, locally and personally.”

Nyatanga hopes to organize a forum to discuss the recent dis­cussions led by the Student Di­versity Board in a way where ev­eryone’s opinions can be heard. Nyatanga said that she, herself, reacted strongly to the cases.

“The thing that upsets me the most about the non-indict­ments is that I’m not surprised. And I think that is terrible. It’s terrible that I am only 17-years-old, and I’m not at all surprised by the normalcy in which black bodies litter the streets,” Nyatan­ga said. “I’m appalled that society has conditioned me to accept this as the norm.”

Creeks agreed, but she was encouraged by the protest.

“Every race was represent­ed,” Creeks said. “It was very powerful in letting us know that Americans of all races can empathize with what we’re going through.”

– Courtney Le