The nation-wide college campus protests surrounding the Israel-Palestine conflict have found its way to the University of Mississippi, and it went about as ugly as you could expect it to have at a school that is home to the Ole Miss Rebels.
During the protest, a Black woman is seen being verbally attacked by what appear to be White college students. The students chant “Lizzo” and “fat a–” at the woman. As she approaches them, the students begin making monkey noises and imitate the moves of a monkey.
A counter-protester jumps up and down and hoots like a monkey toward a protester who was live-streaming on her phone at @OleMiss today.
Chants of “lock her up” as the Dean of Students (@marsh_brent) and multiple law enforcement agencies regain order. pic.twitter.com/fCU3hTioVL
— Stacey J. Spiehler (@StaceyJSpiehler) May 3, 2024
Frat bros at @OleMiss chant, "Lizzo! Lizzo!" and shout, "F**k you fatass, f**k you b*tch" at a Black woman who was protesting for Palestine.
Do people really think these counterprotestors are doing it to support Jews? pic.twitter.com/gUNYgUR7YL
— Ashton Pittman (@ashtonpittman) May 3, 2024
The woman is eventually stopped by local law enforcement officers, all White, as the White students begin to chant “lock her up!”
Out of the entire interaction, which has over 50 million views on X, the social media platform formerly known as Twitter, Mississippi Governor Tate Reeves only partially addressed the protest, the portion in which he complimented the students’ behavior. He posted a clip of the students loudly singing the national anthem.
“Warms my heart,” Reeves posted. “I love Mississippi!”
The ‘protests’ at Ole Miss today. Watch with sound.
Warms my heart.
I love Mississippi!
— Governor Tate Reeves (@tatereeves) May 2, 2024
Reeves has not publicly acknowledged the racist taunting of the young woman yet. Some social media users called out some Black student-athletes who choose to attend the school with deep-rooted history of repeated racist encounters.
And I bet you black athletes will still commit there smh https://t.co/d5zVtC4TWp
— Cobi (@cobiorr) May 3, 2024
Ole Miss plays in yall face more than any PWI in this country, and yall still run up there to wear them words across your chest… 😂😂😂😂 pic.twitter.com/mxl9HWeJH8
— Drey (@DNjtrenton) May 3, 2024
Speaking of athletics? Lane Kiffin, the head coach for Ole Miss football, and by far the most notable name and face currently affiliated with the university, has not publicly commented on or acknowledged the situation yet. Kiffin led his team and other students on campus in a “unity walk” in Oxford, Mississippi in the summer of 2020 during the heat of the Black Lives Matter movement.
The Ole Miss athletic department, as a whole, hasn’t acknowledged the racist incident yet, either.
The nationwide college protests about the Israel-Palestine conflict stem from the United States being such a major ally of Israel, who many protestors feel are currently trying to wipe out the entire Palestinian population. According to U.S. News & World Report, the United States has given Israel more aid than any other country since World War II, exceeding $260 billion.
The protests haven’t been limited to predominately White institutions, either. Once Morehouse College announced President Joe Biden would be this year’s commencement speaker, students spoke out against the decision because of what’s going on in Palestine and America being complicit in Israel’s attacks.
When asked whether he thought what’s happening in Gaza is a “genocide,” Thomas refused to answer. pic.twitter.com/F7Z2bbPs13
— Chauncey L. Alcorn (@CLamontLives) April 25, 2024
