3/20 Coalition Leads ‘Justice For Daunte’ Protest

A Black Lives Matter sign is placed near the Allen Street gates during a 'Justice for Daunte' protest on Tuesday, April 13, 2021 in State College. Photo by Michael Tauriello | Onward State

The 3/20 Coalition hosted a protest at the Allen Street Gates Tuesday night to demand justice for Daunte Wright, a 20-year-old Black man fatally shot by police on Sunday in Brooklyn Park, Minnesota.

The protest attracted dozens of community members to listen to activists in the State College area, including Penn State Black Caucus President Nyla Holland and doctoral candidate Gabriel Green.

Tierra Williams, the co-chair of the 3/20 Coalition and a candidate for Ferguson Township supervisor, opened the event explaining its purpose, which was to stand in solidarity with the family of Daunte Wright.

Shortly after, Holland stepped up to the microphone.

“There is no reform, there is no amendment that will fix this,” Holland said. “We must consider a new system. One for the people, one by the people, for all of us.”

Penn State student Divine Lipscomb, who is running for a Borough Council seat in the May primary, spoke at the protest, pointing to the College Ave. rush hour traffic, saying, “I’m angry, not just because we’re standing here, but look, life just goes on. Life goes on for so many people who are around us.”

He finished off by calling on police, saying, “You do not have a green light to kill people because you wear a badge.”

“The truth is,” Green said, “police brutality only has the intention of tearing us down.”

At the end of his speech, Green left the protest with one final thought.

“A cop in Clearfield County is a cop in Centre County,” he said. “A cop in Pennsylvania is a cop in Michigan!”

“I’m tired of being at the bottom of America’s totem pole,” Williams said. “I’m tired of the hashtags.”

R. Nanre Nafziger-Mayegun, co-chair of the 3/20 Coalition, concluded the protest with a heartfelt speech, “Our sons are crying for their mothers.”

“I’m not going to bury my son,” Nafziger-Mayegun said. “Mothers are not allowed to bury their sons. They’re not allowed to attend their funerals because it’s too hard.”