Students Hold Vigil in Diallo's Memory

Voices boomed from the steps of Memorial Church last night as hundreds of students, professors and local residents gathered for a candlelight vigil in memory of Amadou Diallo.

Diallo was shot 19 times last year by four New York City police officers while standing in the vestibule of his Bronx apartment. Last month, the officers--who said they mistook a wallet Diallo was holding for a gun--were acquitted of second degree murder charges in connection with the death.

Last night's event, organized by Harvard Law School's Black Law Students Association (BLSA), featured speakers, poets and singers, all condemning racial violence and police brutality.

"We need to send a message that if there is no justice, there is no peace," said Darnell Williams, New England Area Conference President of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP). "Only when we unite together in a single voice will people realize that enough is enough."

Professor of Law Randall L. Kennedy urged crowd members to make sure that Diallo's death was not in vain.

"We have to bring something useful and beneficial out of this tragedy," Kennedy said. "We have to mobilize our minds and our hearts to go to the community to lessen the risk of this happening again."

Several speakers said that the Diallo shooting was related to deeper issues in American society, such as racism and abuse of police power.

Adam R. Taylor, president of the Harvard chapter of the NAACP, said he believed the shooting was not an isolated incident in the U.S.

"[Diallo] was caught in the crossfire of a deeper American sickness, the sickness of racism," said Taylor, who is a student at the Kennedy School of Government.

City University of New York Professor of Law Jill S. Elijah said that the shooting went beyond the issue of guilt and innocence.

"We should be outraged when guilty men are shot, too," she said. "The courts are set up to deal with punishment. Not these people going around in blue suits."

Several speakers criticized New York City Mayor Rudolph Giuliani's strict anti-crime policies, partly blaming them for Diallo's death.

Last summer, Taylor worked in the office of Giuliani's office--an experience which he says gave him an inside perspective on the city's efforts to reduce crime.

"I was ashamed that those surrounding me didn't see the loss of life as a civil rights issue," Taylor said. "They saw it as an unintended consequence of reducing crime by 41 percent."

David B. Orr '01 emphasized that the shooting should affect everyone, not just members of the black community.

"Diallo was not just a black person who was gunned down," said Orr, who is an Undergraduate Council member. "He was also a person, a person who did nothing wrong."

Besides numerous speeches, the vigil included several poetry readings and musical performances by groups including Kuumba Singers, who led the gathering in a rendition of James Weldon Johnson's "Lift Every Voice and Sing."

Members of the Black Students Association and the Black Men's Forum circulated a petition calling for sensitivity training for police officers and urging the U.S. Department of Justice to try the four officers on civil charges.

Tabling in front of the Science Center and dining halls, they have already gathered over 1,500 signatures since the verdict.

Event organizer Eboni S. Cohen also announced that the BLSA will be holding a panel on April 15 to discuss the shooting, with defense attorney Johnnie Cochran participating.

Organizers are also encouraging students to wear blue ribbons as part of a national campaign protesting police brutality.

Speakers throughout the event emphasized the importance of organization at the national level to increase awareness of the Diallo case.

"We need to rally and unify every campus across the country," said Brooklyn preacher Dr. Gerald Seabrooks. "We need to send a message that we will not tolerate injustice."