Students protest outside of Vespers, start Week of Action in response to police killings of unarmed black people

December 7, 2014

Students protest outside of Vespers, start Week of Action in response to police killings of unarmed black people

In response to grand jury decisions and the president’s Vespers invitation, which many viewed as half-hearted, students of color organized a week of action coined No Happy Holidays. The week ended with Smith students traveling to participate in the Million Man March. Three spear-headers were Charnice Charmont ‘16, Alyssa Mata Flores ‘16, and Jocelyn Proietti ‘16. The first action consisted of protesting with signs and chants outside of the Christmas Vespers Concert at JMG, followed by a die-in after the services, where students lay on the sidewalk.

No Happy Holidays: A Week of Action Facebook page here

From the Weaving Voices Archives oral histories, to be submitted to the Smith College Archives in Spring 2019

[Last updated on October 20, 2018]