Episode 44 ~ The Demand of a 21-year-old that Reignited Black Lives Matter 2020 ~ Jael Kerandi
Freed 2 Love Podcast
English - September 04, 2020 12:00 - 41 minutes - 28.4 MB - ★★★★★ - 17 ratingsChristianity Religion & Spirituality Health & Fitness healing healingpower healed healedheart healedmarriages reconciliation feelings stressed relationships love Homepage Download Apple Podcasts Google Podcasts Overcast Castro Pocket Casts RSS feed
Listen in as I chat with 21-year-old Jael Kerandi, a senior majoring in finance and marketing at the University of Minnesota in Minneapolis, the city that caught the attention of the world when protesters took to the streets to demand justice for George Floyd who was killed by police on May 25 — approximately 15 minutes away from the University of Minnesota’s campus.
I first learned about Jael's letter on Instagram via her roommate. The demand for action in 24 hours is what caught my eye. Jael wrote a passionate letter to university president Joan Gabel calling for the university to completely terminate its relationship with Minneapolis Police Department.
“The Minneapolis Police Department has repeatedly demonstrated with their actions that Black bodies are expendable to them,” Kerandi wrote. “This is a norm that we have been desensitized to due to its frequency. Black people have been killed by the Minneapolis Police Department at 13.2 times the rate of white people. It is disgusting and it is unacceptable. A part of the Twin Cities campus is embedded within the confines of Minneapolis and students often are under the jurisdiction of the Minneapolis Police Department, a dubious status for any person of color. MPD has continually shown disregard for the welfare and rights of people of color on our campus.” She signed the letter, “With deep loss, disgust, and exhaustion, Jael Kerandi, a Black woman. The Undergraduate Student Body President.”
Kerandi gave Gabel and the university 24 hours to respond to her request. The next day, Gabel responded with a letter of her own—saying the University of Minnesota would stop contracting with MPD for support during large campus events or for specialized services.
This swift action, in my opinion is what I believe reignited the Black Lives Matter movement and its spread across the world. This was definitely different and people took notice because we could not deny or ignore any longer since we were all sheltering-at-home and watching.
facebook.com/stephanieymcneal
instagram.com/stephanieymcneal
linkedin.com/in/stephanieymcneal/