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I have a dream; I am the dream

Josh Hampton

Joshuah Hampton, Staff Reporter

To be united is to be joined together politically, for a common purpose, and that is exactly what students did this past Thursday on the campus of the University of Toledo.

The Black Student Union and Iota Phi Theta Fraternity, Inc. joined together to celebrate how far we have come — and how far we still have to go. As a director of education in the BSU, I got to march and express my feelings not only as a student, but as a young black man.

The march made me feel like I was actually making a difference and spreading awareness on what the public and media need to hear. We held up signs reading, “Alone we can do so little,” “Hands Up, Don’t Shoot,” and “We Shall Overcome.” Our demonstration made me feel as though the black unity on UT’s campus is increasing.

There was not some humongous crowd watching the march, but the crowd we had was filled with much diversity. I have never been to a march, so the experience was amazing. To be able to join together with my fellow BSU members and walk with a common purpose created a moment to remember. The bright smiles on people’s faces as they were being filmed and the power of the chants that were repeated is indescribable.

Tiffany Fulford, a fourth-year education major as well as the BSU vice president, was the first spokeswoman at this event, and I remember her saying, “There is strength in numbers.” Those words go to show what has to be done in order to keep moving forward. One hundred African-Americans as a unit have a much stronger voice than 10 African-Americans as a unit. We, as black students on campus, must join together in order to be strong.

With students, faculty and staff present, the march had an outstanding turnout. Marches like this inspire and unite great young minds that, in the end, do great things. Donovan Thompson, a fourth-year criminal justice major as well as president of UT Iota Phi Theta Fraternity, Inc., spoke on the injustice that has recently been going on and what African-Americans have done to gain freedom.

With the ongoing Ferguson trial of 2014, we are witnessing blacks coming together as one. According to a USA Today video, the Ferguson trial involves Michael Brown, an 18-year-old African-American, who was shot and killed by a police officer. “Hands up, don’t shoot,” which is the slogan being repeated all over social media, originated from the Ferguson protest Aug. 14, according to Vox.com.

This slogan shows how African-Americans have put a positive, nonviolent spin on the recent violent events in the news.

Robert Delk, a fourth-year mathematics major and BSU president, led the march’s chants saying, “I Have a Dream,” and “I am the Dream,” showcasing that we are living how Martin Luther King Jr. hoped for us to live as a society.

It excites me to know that I can be engaged in an event like this with no problems and only positivity to spread.

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