Gov. Jay Nixon expects a grand jury to make its decision in whether to indict the police officer responsible for the shooting of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri, before the month’s end.
The ongoing unrest isn’t solely about a single event, as detractors often claim. The shooting of Brown turned on a massive spotlight to the ongoing, systemic problems within the criminal justice system, not just in Missouri, but across America. Cruel and unnecessarily violent policing of black Americans has continued for far too long — Martin Luther King, Jr. referred to police brutality multiple times in his “I Have A Dream” speech — and we believe the events of Ferguson have the potential to result in positive and vital reforms to oppressive and discriminatory American institutions in this country.
Four student organizations — MU4MikeBrown, the Legion of Black Collegians, Four Front Minority Student Leaders Council and the MU chapter of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People — are organizing a demonstration on the day of the announcement to show solidarity and support for Brown, his family and the Ferguson community.
Previous events held by MU4MikeBrown, LBC and the Queer People of Color, such as the [“die-in”](https://www.themaneater.com/stories/2014/10/8/mu4mikebrown-holds-rally-against-unjust-killings-b/) and a [silent march](https://www.themaneater.com/stories/2014/9/11/student-organizations-respond-events-ferguson/) held in August, are examples of peaceful and progressive demonstrations in response to the events in Ferguson. These events effectively advocated for change in our society.
We commend these student organizations’ goals and actions in advocating for racial equality, and our campus has positively received previous events held for Brown. However, we believe the name of the event, as it stands, might take away from the intended message behind the efforts of our student advocates.
The organizations referred to the event as “D-Day: Decision Day” in [a flyer for the event tweeted out from MU NAACP’s Twitter account](http://ow.ly/i/7CQ0V) on Monday night. Intentional or not, “D-Day” may recall for some people the images of soldiers invading the beaches of Normandy and storming through Europe. This title thus connotes an urgent tone that could easily be construed as belligerent. Since Monday evening, the flyer has been the only information we have been able to obtain from these student organizations regarding the purpose of “D-Day.”
These student organizations have shown they can be progressive in peaceful protests, but we urge them to be careful with this emotionally-charged event. When the decision breaks, all eyes will be on our state, and MU students need to be aware of the intense public sphere in which they’ll be demonstrating.
Vested in language is the power for social and political change. When used effectively, this language can persuade people — a few, then many — and chip at cemented institutions of thought. However, when used unintentionally, perhaps negatively, language loses its power of persuasion — people stop listening — and it deters present and future progression for the goals of organizations as these: the advancement of the goodness and equality of mankind.
