Penn State’s African Student Association Hosts a Pan-African Protest

October 26, 2020 | Jada Pender

STATE COLLEGE, PA — On Sunday Oct. 25, Penn State students gathered to protest injustices

occurring in different countries in Africa, including Nigeria, Congo, and Liberia.

“As being apart of the Black diaspora, I felt as though it was my duty to support my brothers

and sisters in Africa and to learn more about the struggle they’re going through.” Kianna

Bingham (junior - political science and African American studies) said.

Earlier this week, people on social media have been spreading awareness about these issues

happening overseas. They detailed the issues with the Special Anti-Robbery Squad or SARS in

Nigeria, the silent Holocaust that is forcing children to mine for coltan in Congo and rape

pandemic in Liberia.

Those stories have not made the nightly news broadcast in the United States, but Penn State

students are determined to bring awareness to these injustices happening.

“Once people are posting about things like this, these leaders are getting scared and that is what

we’re really pushing for,” said Randi Youboty (junior - bio-behavioral health), “For example, he

[Liberian President George Weah] didn’t declare rape a national emergency until people were

pushing and yelling at him and when other countries started declaring theirs [state of

emergency].”
The students that gathered at the Allen Street Gates for this protest held up signs saying, “Justice

for Africa,” “Stop Killing Us” and “Black Lives Don’t Only Matter in America.”

Several students detailed the issues going on in each country to the crowd. Youboty spoke about

the rape epidemic in Liberia.

She told the crowd to educate themselves about the situation going on even though it may not

directly affect them.

The crowd was made up of people from different ethnic groups, not just people from the African

countries the protest supported.

The protest was followed by a candlelight vigil to pay respects to those who lost their lives in

these series of crises. The crowd also took a moment of silence for those that are still living in

these situations.

The protest was hosted by Penn State’s African Student Association with the goal to bring

awareness about the injustices to people in and outside of the African community.

This is the first protest they hosted this year, and they had a great deal of people outside of their

organization attend. While the crowd was not large in the numbers, approximately 25 students,

the students that came out were passionate about these issues and their only concern was to bring

awareness and support the victims in these different African countries.

“Africa is bleeding,” Bingham said as she closed her speech. She urged others to support the

Black people in these countries the same way they support the Black Lives Matter movement in

the United States.