Image via Evan Spann

 

By: Mira Donaldson and Evan Spann, Staff Writers 

 

Atlanta Student Movement Blvd. memorializes a movement that helped identify the power of Black students’ voices in politics. Serving as a reminder to each incoming class of scholars and change agents, students upheld this Atlanta tradition this fall. This past semester, waves of student advocacy for Palestinian decolonization and liberation swept Atlanta and other cities worldwide. Students  expressed deep concern for those involved in the war who were  affected and took action.

 

The first demonstration in Atlanta was on Oct. 20, as several hundred supporters congregated peacefully in front of the CNN Center, marching to support Palestine. Yasmin Saleh, a protest attendee and Palestinian-American remembered visiting her grandmother in Gaza. 

 

“For the first time in 2007, I went to my Grandma’s house, and now it is destroyed,” Saleh said.

 “This [violence] has been something that is not new to me nor my family. It has been something we have experienced for the past 75 years, before I was alive, before my grandparents were alive. It has impacted our entire family’s life, so it is imperative that I was there.” 

 

Spelman College sophomore Rokiyah Darbo organized the protest along with many social justice organizations, such as The Party for Socialism and Justice (PSL), The Black Alliance for Peace Atlanta (BAP), Georgia Muslim Voter Project (GMVP) and the Palestinian Youth Movement (PYM).

 

Hamas and Israel’s conflict is intergenerational and widespread; many people without direct familial ties felt strongly about protesting.  

 

“I was there just to show solidarity with the Palestinian people who have been oppressed by the Israeli government,” Mani Hamdan, another protest attendee, said. 

 

“I’ve been observing this for the last 25 years and am reminded of what Nelson Mandela said about Gaza being the biggest open jail in the world,” he said.

 

A recurring theme from protesters was their urgency for the truth to be pushed to the masses. 

 

“I think it is important to call out the situation like it is,” Salim Odeh, another protester, said. “Israel is committing genocide and has been for the past 75 years. We know Hamas does not represent the will of the Palestinian people”.  

 

During the civil rights era, many Black activists such as Malcolm X and Huey P. Newton advocated for an anti-apartheid Palestine.  After retaliations from both countries, the hashtag “#HBCUsforPalestine” was created as HBCUs have been at the epicenter of many social justice movements. 

 

“HBCUs are powerhouses of student activism,” Eliana Howell, a sophomore at Spelman College, said. “ There have been a lot of similarities between what has been happening to them by Zionists and what has been happening to Black people.”

 

Students have developed strong opinions about the media’s information on Palestine and Israel. 

 

“The media has tried to dehumanize Palestinians and make them seem like they are less than human and deserve to die. And the media does not show what is truly happening and how Palestinians are truly suffering,” Darbo said.

 

Spelman and Morehouse have brought awareness to the conflict hosting several teach-in sessions throughout the semester. 

 

The first session, “A Roadmap to Apartheid,” was a teach-in and film screening held in the Spelman College Cosby Auditorium, hosted by the Comparative Women’s Studies Department on Oct. 16.  This was followed by three teach-in sessions hosted by the Andrew Young Center for Global Leadership (AYCGL) on Nov. 2 in Morehouse College’s Bank of America Auditorium. The teach-ins gave students to voice their opinions, concerns and learn how they can be more involved in activism. 

 

“There is no system or people in place to hold Israeli soldiers accountable for human rights violations,” Dr. Rana Shabb, a panelist and one of two representatives from The Carter Center at session one, said.  “The Carter Center has called for a ceasefire.  The only way out is an equal human rights solution.”

 

Student activist groups, AUC Students for Justice in Palestine and AUC Student Intercommunal Coordinating Committee have also led protest efforts on the  campus.  

 

In mid-October, Starbucks Workers United’s pro-Palestinian stance was proclaimed “Solidarity with Palestine.” 

 

“We unequivocally condemn these acts of terrorism, hate, and violence, and disagree with the statements and views expressed by Workers United and its members,” Starbucks replied in a statement. 

 

The company and the union sued each other and the lawsuit is ongoing.

 

The AUC SJP protested on Nov. 13, painting the ground in front of Starbucks at the entryway of Lower Manley.  Phrases included “Your matcha [tea] is not worth 4,000 children” and “The AUC needs its eyes on Palestine.” 

 

Later that night, the organization released the following statement in an Instagram post:

 

“Art has always been a form of resistance. We have seen in our lifetime how public art can draw attention to larger issues of humanity. From murals of Breonna Taylor and George Floyd in 2020 to the work of Palestinian artist Heba Zagout, whose life was tragically taken by an Israeli air strike on October 13, 2023,” the AUC SJP said. 

 

The consensus from AUC is an immediate ceasefire and push for all humanitarian aid. 

 

Copy Edited by: Auzzy Byrdsell, Editor-in-Chief and Colin Royal, Managing Editor of Print