Editorial: Black Lives Matter is relevant to Vermillion

People all over the country have been gathering to march for the same cause in the last few months, years and even decades.

Marching for freedom. Marching for equality. Marching for those who can’t march for themselves.

The Cultural Wellness Coalition hosted a Justice for Black Lives March on the USD campus last Wednesday, where students and community members marched from the DakotaDome to Slagle Hall to show their support.

In a small rural community like Vermillion, one might wonder why this is important. Not much has happened here yet, so it’s not an issue, right?

Wrong.

Marching for Black Lives Matter isn’t just relevant to Vermillion, or South Dakota — it’s relevant for the United States as a whole. But this support starts at the local level and that starts with us here in Vermillion.

Now is the time to speak out. Now is the time to teach and to learn. Attending marches and demanding justice for those who need and deserve it allows Vermillion to work towards a better, more unified community. 

According to the New York Times, there have been over 4,700 demonstrations since the first protests began at the end of May after the death of George Floyd. The article also states Black Lives Matter may be the largest movement in U.S. History.

Doesn’t that mean we all have a part to play? Shouldn’t we try to make a difference?

Cities all over the country are standing up and marching, so Vermillion should do the same thing.

It goes beyond sharing posts on Instagram, or signing a petition. If we can’t show our support through our actions, then how can we expect anything to change?

For those of you who have taken action, keep it up. Get your friends and family involved. 

With this one march, a big step was taken not only for USD and Vermillion, but the whole country. Now it’s time to increase involvement. If you’re not sure how to get involved, ask questions. If you have something to say, speak up. Sitting and waiting for this movement to be “over” is not the way to make change, because it’s not over. It’s just beginning.

Whether we realize it or not, this movement applies to all of us and we can’t look past it. Either we’re all in, or we’re not in at all. And stepping up and speaking out is this the first step in being all in. It’s up to us to stand up for our community and stand up to bring justice to others.