Recently, over the noon hour, while students were eating lunch in the 4th floor buffeteria of Riddell Hall in the University of Winnipeg, a group of people with megaphone and loudspeaker in hand, arrived and began to chant:
“No justice, no peace, no racist police! Hands up, don’t shoot! Black lives matter!”
The words they shouted were written on signs they held up for all to see. They also spoke loudly about what they see as unjust actions perpetrated by police against black people.
They collapsed to the floor in a mock ‘die-in’ before rising and collecting donations for protesters in the US, who have been prosecuted or jailed. The group then marched off to a lecture.
“It was one of the most powerful things I ever did in my whole life,” said Alexa Potashnik, one of the protesters. “It hit me and I was really affected by the movement. And we wanted to make some noise. Get peoples’ attention.”
Potashnik and the others believe racism is a systemic problem in North America that won’t go away unless there is concerted effort and action taken at all levels of society to combat it and replace it with tolerance, acceptance and inclusion.
CKUW 95.9 FM reporter, Michael Welch, recorded this audio while on the scene. This is followed by radio host Matthew Joseph interviewing one of the protesters, Alexa Potashnik:
