In efforts to bring awareness to police brutality against women, Eastern’s chapter of the National Association of Colored Women’s Club will be holding an event called “Hear My Cry.”

“Hear My Cry” is an event divided into two different sections.

The event will open up with an art gallery showing and will be followed by performances including a guest speaker held in the Martin Luther King Jr. University Union Ballroom Thursday.

The gallery show will open at 5:30 p.m. and the actual show will begin at 6:15 p.m.

The organization uplifts and empowers women and minorities, which inspired the ladies to create this event.

Angela Davis, the first vice president of the National Association of Colored Women’s Club, said, “This event is dedicated to the African-American women who have been killed due to police brutality.”

Davis said this event is a way for her organization, as well as all members on campus to pay respect to the women who are now deceased.

The gallery section of the event will include photos of the women who were victims of police brutality such as Sandra Bland, Rekia Boyd and Aiyana Jones.

Under their pictures will be a short biography on how the woman was killed and how their deaths were handled by the justice system.

The guest speaker will be Yolanda Williams, a Gateway academic advisor.

“Yolanda is important to this event because she is very big on fighting for women,” Davis said. “She is very influential when it comes to the women here on campus.”

Khirsten Miller, a junior psychology major, is a member The National Association of Colored Women’s Club and said the police brutality is not only physical abuse. She said police brutality could also be emotional or psychological.

“Police brutality against women is pushed under the rug because of the way that we know the media to stereotype men,” Davis said.

Davis and Miller said police often use brutality on men as opposed to women because they find African-American men intimidating.

Miller said many of the women who are killed due to police brutality suffer from illnesses.

She said officers are not trained well enough to deal with them properly.

Miller said if officers were trained enough to deal with different types of people, there might be a significant drop in deaths due to police brutality.

“In NACWC, we want to support our women, protect our women and empower our women,” Miller said.

Performances include praise dances, poetry and songs performed by students on campus.

This event is targeted to the women on campus, but Davis said the event is open to all races, all genders, as well as faculty on campus.

Davis said the inspiration from this event came from the fact that police brutality against women is often hidden.
“Many people depend too much on technology and social media,” Davis said. “ Many of us do not go out and educate ourselves on our rights.”

Miller said many officers tend to take advantage of the situation by holding authority over them. She said policemen tend to assert themselves because they feel they are the dominant gender.

Davis said she wants people attending the event to come with an open mind. She said those who attend the event should be willing to unite with the women as well as the others in the room.

“We cannot progress if we are unaware, uneducated and closed minded,” Davis said.

Torri Griffith can be reached at 581-2812 or tlgriffith@eiu.edu