About 300 protesters from Wesleyan rallied in Middletown on Monday afternoon and held a solidarity march, adding their voices to the national movement protesting the deaths Michael Brown and Eric Garner. Grand juries decided not to indict police officers for causing either man’s death.
“We are preparing for finals, writing exams, grading them…. These are important things. But all around the country people are speaking out against the outrageous injustices that people of color face on a regular basis. We must acknowledge these issues. The time to speak out is now,” Wesleyan University president Michael Roth wrote in a post on the Wesleyan University’s Web site.
Police received a tip about a secret "die-in" protest at the intersection of Main and Washington (Route 66) streets around rush hour and asked the university and the student organizer to change the rally location, police said. But the student "refused" and said that the protesters intended to "inconvenience people," police said.
“On Monday, December 8th, at 3 pm, students of Wesleyan University will be marching in response to the police brutality and systemic racism that led to the deaths of Mike Brown, Eric Garner, and countless other people of color in recent times. The state must be held accountable for the prejudicial treatment of these individuals. Our movement must start from the ground-up. I am emailing you to ask for your support and solidarity, and invite you to march alongside us students for this cause. We will be gathering at Exley Science Center at 265 Church St,” a notice on the faculty list-serv said, according to the post from President Roth.
Police closed down the intersection to prevent accidents and advised Board of Education and EMS personnel to avoid the area during the protest. Protestors arrived at about 3 p.m.
"The march was peaceful and respectful. Some students thanked us for keeping them safe during the march. The most anyone did in a negative way was to shake a sign near the officers," Middletown police said. "The students cleared the intersection after occupying it for eleven minutes. We then followed the students back to Wesleyan property to ensure their safety."
The 11 minutes were intended to symbolize the "11 times Eric Gardner said that he could not breathe," acording to a copy of an email about the protests a concerned citizen forwarded to police.
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Half of the students marched back to the intersection, but police told them they couldn't protest in the intersection again and that they had to instead use the sidewalks and crosswalks. Police ensured that the students made it safely across the crosswalk, police said. The students cooperated with police and no one was injured.
The crowd began to disperse around 4 p.m.
