Occupy SLU started in October 2014 with six days of peaceful occupation at Saint Louis University's campus clock tower that included daily teach-ins and community conversations, following the officer-involved shootings of two African American young men: Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri, and VonDerrit Myers Jr., the son of a long-time member of the SLU community, VonDerrit Myers Sr., in the nearby Shaw neighborhood of St. Louis.
Occupy SLU ended with the adoption of the Clock Tower Accords, a 13-point agreement committing Saint Louis University to actively strengthen diversity, inclusion and equity on campus. In the spirit of the Gospels, the Accords also extend that commitment to the city and suburban neighbors, particularly to underserved families.
#OccupySLU Week 2023
No Justice, No Peace: The Student Activists of Occupy SLU, Tuesday, October 10-Saturday, October 14
Tuesday Events
5 p.m.-6:30 p.m.
Center for Global Citizenship
Sponsored by DICE
Opening Reception for OccupySLU with a fireside chat with Associate Professor of Psychology
Kira Banks, Ph.D., and Faybra Jubalani, lead racial equity capacity catalyst
at Forward Through Ferguson.
Thursday Events
11 a.m.-1 p.m.
Center for Global Citizenship
Sponsored by DICE
Annual reading of speech the Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr., delivered at Saint Louis University in 1964.
4 p.m.-5 p.m.
Clock Tower
Sponsored by DICE and Campus Ministry
Remembrance event to honor those killed by police/law enforcement violence.
4:30 p.m.
Zoom: https://slu.zoom.us/j/3016026543
Sponsored by Professor Danielle Davis, Ph.D., School of Education
A follow-up to the student activist panel, this panel features the reflections and relevant social justice work of faculty leaders who supported participants of the Occupy SLU movement.
Friday Events
6 p.m.
Center for Global Citizenship
A viewing of the critically acclaimed film "Bad Hair" followed by a discussion on hair politics and the CROWN Act.
6:30 pm
Il Monastero, 3050 Olive St, St. Louis, Missouri 63103
Sponsored by SLU Department of Women & Gender Studies
Join us for this year's UnMasc event, where 11 folks, cisgender and transgender men and non-binary people who identify with masculinity, from varying racial, ethnic, and cultural backgrounds will get on stage and share a story about how ideas of masculinity have impacted their lives. During Violence Prevention Month, The Village PATH and Undo Bias will co-host this event.
Saturday Events
Noon-4 p.m.
Pruellage Lawn
Sponsored by DICE
#OccupySLU Today
#OccupySLU emphasizes the racial and economic injustices of marginalized and brutalized human beings and communities, which, in turn, brought awareness about people, especially Black human beings, who wouldn’t otherwise be recognized by others who are living under far different realities — the pain and social ills that were at the center of the protesters' concerns.
Events at SLU related to #OccupySLU now raise awareness; remember the works of the fallen who have paved the way for our progress; assess the advancement and growth within the Clock Tower Accords; and highlight love, light, healing and justice.