On Friday, the Jefferson City branch said Mizzou students can call 1-844-NAACP-HELP to anonymously report threats to law enforcement. Students who live off campus and in the surrounding areas of Mizzou are also welcome to call. President of the NAACP chapter, Nimrod Chapel, tells The Huffington Post the idea came to fruition out of concern for the safety of students.
After a week full of protests against racism on campus, two White male students were arrested for making death threats against African-Americans at Mizzou on social media.
“If you look at the history of the Civil Rights Movement, when concessions are made for equality and respect for human dignity, there have always been individuals who feel as though their liberty is being stifled,” Chapel said in a statement.
The campus protests began with a hunger strike by graduate student Jonathan Butler. The school’s football team then supported Butler’s protest by refusing to play any Mizzou games until university President Tim Wolfe addressed the racial tension. This led to the resignations of both Wolf and Chancellor R. Bowen Loftin.
Labeling the protests a “wake-up call,” Chapel said the power of students is something the nation must recognize and acknowledge.
“The students and concerned members of the University of Missouri have given us all a wake up call,” Chapel said, adding that the actions of student activists in standing up to inequality is “commendable.”
The #ConcernedStudent1950 protests inspired rallies at Yale, Brown, and other universities across the country, calling to end all racial bias on college campuses.
