UConn Collaborative Organizing (UCCO) is an intersectional organizing group focused on bringing the UConn community together to fight for racial, environmental and social justice.
The violent, generational looting of black America, inflicted through the institution of chattel slavery, the brutal segregation of Jim Crow and the mass incarceration of poor black communities has boiled over amidst a pandemic that is disproportionately taking black lives.
Sparked by the murders of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Tony McDade, Ahmaud Arbery and countless others, a rebellion has broken out across the country. Four hundred years of oppression is being exercised onto America’s great cities. Politicians have responded with extreme force, giving the police free reign to assault, tear gas, mace and shoot peaceful protesters. The President has mobilized the military to quell our righteous anger.
We are living through history, and we are also actively shaping it. At this moment, there is little middle ground to be had. You either stand with the protesters, with our black brothers, sisters and non-binary folks, or you stand with the increasingly repressive and fascistic police forces.
Today, UConn Collaborative Organizing is issuing a call to the UConn community: Mobilize. Speaking out on social media is not enough. If you can safely go to a protest, go. Donate to a bail fund or community organization. Provide legal support to arrested protestors. Begin organizing in your own community. Have difficult conversations with your family. Engage in mutual aid work. Pressure your clubs and organizations to make statements and materially support protesters.
Yes, to be silent is to be complicit — but even more so, to be inactive is to be complicit.
In future years, we will look back at this time of great unrest, violence and hope as a turning point in history. Do not be the one who stood by idly and watched it happen. It’s time to craft history with our own hands. It’s time to mobilize, UConn.
Disclaimer: The Daily Campus Opinion Editor, Harry Zehner, is a member of the UCCO E-Board.