On Friday, September 4 at 6 p.m. the Davenport-Benham Chapter of the Black Law Students Association (“BLSA”) of the University of Georgia will be hosting a March to raise awareness around issues affecting black and brown students at UGA, as well issues affecting minorities in the Athens community at large. The March will begin at the UGA “Arch” on North Campus and will conclude at the steps of City Hall in Downtown Athens.
Hosted in partnership with Athens For Everyone, Athens Antidiscrimination Movement, and Crisis in Black Education, the March aims to draw attention to various issues that have arisen as a result of the recently publicized high profile killings of Black Americans, as well as the on- going COVID-19 crisis.
The specific goals for the March are as follows:
• Address concerns over UGA’s COVID-19 management process;
• A demand for the implementation of a more equitable selection process for the Georgia Law Review, which has historically under-represented people of color;
• A demand for scholarships for the descendants of slaves and Linnentown;
• A demand for the immediate renaming and/or removal of buildings and monuments that promulgate a racist history;
• The end of qualified immunity;
• A demand to shift resources away from the Athens-Clarke Police Department and towards community resources.
All those interested are invited to attend. We also urge that you wear your “Law Dawgs for Black Lives” shirt to the March if you purchased one from BLSA over the summer. Please bring masks, signs, and energy!
For more information please contact, Davenport.benham@gmail.com