What's Going On
Medgar Evers Coalition Stages Silent Protest of College Administration at BAM
Demonstrators handed out thousands of leaflets with the question, “What would Medgar do?” Demonstrators demanded the resignation of Provost Howard Johnson and strongly challenged the leadership of President William Pollard. Other demands included: the restoration of the staff and student support services to ensure academic excellence; restoration of the open enrollment policy at the college; support for the college’s centers and community programs; the redistribution of resources allocated to outside consultants and the shifting of those resources to student support services and immediate action toward providing gender equity in top-level administrative positions. New York City Council members Letitia James (35th CD), Charles Barron (40th CD), Jumaane Williams (45th CD) and state Committeeman Walter Mosley (57th AD) also stopped by to encourage the demonstrators to keep up the good fight.
“The administration has ignored the students of Medgar Evers College for far too long and today we were going to be heard,” said Lorraine Broadway, Vice President of the MEC Chapter of the NAACP. “We truly honored the spirit of Dr. King by standing up for our rights in a nonviolent and productive manner.”
“Our objective was to proactively honor the legacy of Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., Medgar Evers, and the civil rights movement in a way that King supporters could relate to. We also came out to create more awareness about the injustices currently happening at Medgar Evers College. We feel that we have achieved that,” said Lumumba Bandele, one of the organizers of the Coalition and a former faculty member of Medgar Evers College.