Norfolk, Va. - They stand tall, quiet and united. Dressed in black, their actions speak for themselves.
Hundreds of Old Dominion University students gathered in Kaufman Hall on Thursday to protest Grand Jury decisions not to indict the police officers responsible for the recent deaths of two African-American men.
“It’s really hard to explain. I have to talk to a 5 and 6-year-old about why a kid was slain, why the person who killed him did not go to jail,” said student and protest organizer Jonethan Tyson.
It’s those explanations that the protestors and the thousands across the nation are asking for.
"I just feel like justice should have been served a little more different than what the outcome of the results were," says student Meme Davis.
Organizers of this event say they are working on other events, but say the most important thing they want to do in the near future is to get out to all the Hampton Roads communities and educate folks on what happened in Ferguson and New York City to prevent such an incident from happening right here.
Only two police officers were present at the protest. Neither wanted to speak.
Protestors say they’ve tried to reach out to local law enforcement to begin a dialogue on the issue. They claim police were unreceptive.
"Like we've seen in these other areas, injustices can happen so what we need to do is just improve our relationship with law enforcement and improve our relationship with others, and just...really have a conversation. When we can have a conversation...a lot of things can get done," Tyson said.
Until that conversation is started, protestors say this is all that will be said.
