At the University of Mississippi, a pro-Palestine demonstration was disrupted by counter-protestors on Thursday who made racist gestures and noises towards a Black woman, the Daily Beast reports.
The incident, captured on video and shared on social media where it went viral, showed white students mimicking monkey gestures and noises, while also shouting racial epithets towards the woman.
The student, identified by Mississippi Free Press as graduate student and “UM for Palestine” media contact Jaylin Smith, was called a “bitch,” “Lizzo,” and other racist and bigoted words.
“At a university which promotes diversity, equity and inclusivity, I’m standing for my right to free speech and getting things thrown at me, and officers are putting their hands on me to move me back,” Smith told the publication.
“Somebody’s gotta stand up, and it’s not always gonna be our Palestinian students. It takes our white, our Black, our Brown, our Asian students to stand up for everybody. Injustice anywhere is injustice everywhere.”
Footage of the disgusting incident was shared by Republican Congressman Rep. Mike Collins of Georgia, who seemingly endorsed the behavior with the caption, “Ole Miss taking care of business.”
According to Mississippi Today, the roughly 60 pro-Palestine protestors were outnumbered by more than 200 counter-protestors. Police intervened and reportedly ended the student-led protest less than an hour after it officially began, after water bottles and other items were reportedly thrown from the opposing side.
The publication also notes that the school is a “largely white university” with few Palestinian and Jewish students. No arrests were made and no injuries were reported.
Despite the Ole Miss protestors not setting up an encampment similar to others that have popped up at universities across the globe, the protestors joined calls for the university to divest from any companies with ties to Israel.
Two weeks ago, students at Columbia University set up an encampment on the campus to demand the university divest from all financial ties to Israel. Per the Columbia Spectator, the university’s personnel disassembled the “Gaza Solidarity Encampment” on Tuesday night after the New York Police Department swept the occupied Hamilton Hall, renamed "Hind Hall" in honor of the 6-year-old murdered by Israeli soldiers.
Columbia’s encampment inspired similar protests across college campuses in the U.S., including at the University of California Los Angeles, where a counter-protestor was ironically seen wearing a Denim Tears hoodie while shouting racist comments at demonstrators. The hoodie worn by the individual is part of designer Tremaine Emory’s “Systemic Racism Controls America” collection in collaboration with Arthur Jafa.
The New York Times reports that more than 2,300 people have been arrested or detained on campuses across the country since April 18.
