"Don't shoot."
"Mike Brown."
These were the words written on a red poster that matched Jamaine Turner's lipstick as she clutched the poster in her hands.
Turner was one of about 35 students gathered on the steps of Dale Hall on Friday afternoon to show support and raise awareness for the city of Ferguson in light of the recent police shooting of Mike Brown.
Turner said the recent uproar of violence against young black males has shoved injustice into the spotlight, demanding that voices be heard.
"I'm here to raise awareness and to support and to stand up for non-violence," Turner said.
Social injustice activists like those outside Dale Hall have worked to organize independent rallies all over the U.S., raising awareness about police brutality.
"It's not a protest," Russell Bouyer, OU graduate student, said. "This is a stand for human rights."
Bouyer heard about the rally via multimedia facets like Twitter and Facebook and led students in a prayer and song in honor of recent victims of social violence.
Riian Whitbui, health and exercise science junior, and Brittani Jackson, adult and higher education graduate student, decided it was time to take action, and organized Friday's rally.
"We want to stand together with Ferguson today, like other cities are doing," Jackson said. "The black population at OU is here to stand together with those people. That's what this is for."
Jackson quoted Martin Luther King Jr. with words that inspired her to speak out.
"'When justice is threatened somewhere, it threatens justice everywhere.' Bringing us together in solidarity for this tragic incident was just something that was necessary," she said.
Whitbui shared an original spoken word piece with the crowd, titled "The Happiest Place on Earth," to illustrate her feelings toward social injustice.
"I don't know what it's going to take for police brutality to stop, but I know it's important to try," Whitbui said.
Students plan to continue their activist efforts 8 p.m. Monday at the Jim Thorpe Multicultural Center by writing letters to state officials encouraging non-violence support.
