In the wake of several days of violence last week, a large crowd of students, faculty and community members gathered Sunday afternoon in Langdon Hall to mourn the lives of those lost in Baton Rouge, Falcon Heights and Dallas.
"We are here today to honor the lives, and reflect on the deaths, of Alton Sterling and Philando Castile, each of whom were killed by police last week," said Beth McDaniel, president of Auburn's on-campus chapter of the Southern Poverty Law Center.
"We are also here to honor the lives of five police officers that were killed by a lone individual in Dallas," she said. "We stand in solidarity with the families of those who were lost, with Baton Rouge, with Falcon Heights, with Dallas and with the rest of the nation as we begin to heal and move forward."
About 50 members of the Auburn Family — black and white, students and faculty — gathered in Langdon's auditorium for the memoriam demonstration sponsored by the Black Student Union.
"I have hope that we will not be ignored if we all remember to do something," said Black Student Union President Kayla Warner. "The worst thing we can do is nothing at all. Any act adds to the force of change, and we will make change in this world."
Last week, Americans witnessed three instances of violence in Louisiana, Texas and Minnesota — all three of which were videoed or live streamed on cell phones and later broadcast on national television.
In Baton Rouge, Louisiana, and Falcon Heights, Minnesota, two black men were shot and killed by police. In the videos and live streams that were shared, the men did not seem to be a direct danger to the police.
Only a day after Castile's death was live-streamed by his fiancé in Minnesota, five police officers were killed and seven others were wounded by a lone-wolf shooter in Dallas, Texas.
The shooter, now identified as a Micah Johnson, said he wanted to kill white people, especially white police officers and that he was upset about Black Lives Matter and the deaths of Sterling and Castile.
His rampage followed a peaceful and civil Black Lives Matter rally in Dallas last Thursday evening. During the rally, protestors and activists even took pictures with Dallas police officers. Two civilians who were attending the rally were also wounded by Johnson's bullets.
Since then, leaders of the Black Lives Matter movement and other prominent leaders in the African American community have harshly denounced the killings in Dallas as what they were: senseless acts of violence.
"There are no words to say," Warner said. "In the midst of tragedy, words seem to disappear. ... We feel helpless, hopeless. We are hurt. There is no shame in these feelings. There is no shame in trying to heal yourself in these moments."
According to the Dallas Morning News, Dallas Police Chief David Brown said the investigation suggests Johnson had long prepared for the attack but fast-tracked his plans after the protest march was announced.
Brown said he acted alone and had no connections with the Black Lives Matter movement.
In 2016 so far, 123 African Americans have been killed by police in the United States, according to a Pulitzer Prize-winning database compiled by The Washington Post. At least 12 of those who were shot were unarmed, and another nine were only carrying toy weapons.
"We have all said, 'I don't know what to do. ... This doesn't make sense,'" Warner said. "That's what we have to keep doing. We have to keep saying this doesn't make sense. This is wrong. This is wrong. This is wrong. The world is not supposed be like this. My world is not supposed to be list this."
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