Solidarity at the BLS Courtyard

Last Thursday, BLS’s Black Law Student Association and National Lawyer’s Guild chapters hosted a “Die-In.” Demonstrators were invited to visit the BLS courtyard and lay in formation for four minutes and thirty seconds, literally one-sixtieth of the time that Michael Brown’s body was allowed to lay on the pavement of that Ferguson street in August. Brown’s body was on the ground for four hours an thirty minutes.

Courtyard access was gated in anticipation of this event by campus security; attendance was not possible without a Brooklyn law School ID. Mercedes Ravelo, Brooklyn Law School Director of Public Safety, was on site in the minutes leading to the scheduled exercise. When asked to comment on the gated access, she described that it was to prevent unsanctioned members of the public from “intruding” upon the show of support for black individuals dead at the hands of law enforcement. She however refused to comment directly as to why such prevention was necessary. Simply, gate access allowed them to “control our [school] population” in ways that would not be possible were the courtyard open to the public. Her context for this exact choice of words was unclear, but in all fairness, it didn’t seem sinister at the time.

The gathering was one of reflection and group support for people elsewhere who are not in any position to advocate for themselves. Most literally, Eric Garner and Michael Brown have been killed as a result of law enforcement actions in recent months, and indeed, those two individuals are by no means unique in that fact. Indeed, Student Leader Eric Eingold ‘15, rather eloquently described the die-in as a “group mourning” effort.

Janeen Hall, ’15 President of BLSA, was very visibly moved by the attendance, and described her thoughts by email afterward. “The most powerful social change comes from a community that comes together. And we are in a time where we are seeing social change desperately needed.” Ms. Hall was not the only one who took note of the crowd, not only in its size but also its composition. Shout-outs on Facebook abounded, such as Garynn Noel, ’15. “All I know is, you don’t have to be black to be human. Shout out to every single one of you wonderful humans who understands that this is not ‘our’ fight, but rather our fight.”

All of that said, there was simply a lot of speechlessness in reaction not only to the planned display, but the events that precipitated it. David Craft, ’16, greeted attendees and thanked them for their support. Noted faculty were also in attendance, including Dean Stacy Caplow and Professors Susan Herman and Linda Feldman.

If you have thoughts on this topic or anything else that you think warrants discussion in the BLS Advocate, please email Op-Ed Editor at David.Jacobson@brooklaw.edu, with the subject header “ADVOCATE” in all caps.