On Nov. 24, Officer Darren Williams was not indicted on any of the charges for the murder of Michael Brown. The following day, throughout passing times, a student led rally commenced in the mall regarding the verdict.

Bianca Williams, senior, was one of the students leading the rally.

“My [initial] reaction to the Ferguson verdict was emotional; I immediately started crying. Then my friends texted me and said ‘okay, we need to get going with this movement for school tomorrow’. I knew we needed to get everyone’s attention and support,” Williams said.

During the rally, students held up signs saying ‘No Justice No Peace’ and chanted ‘hands up don’t shoot’. There were also spoken word and poems given by students involved. For each passing time, 30 to 45 students participated in the rally.

“To see how many people were supporting us was crazy. I knew that we would have a good turnout but what we had was even better. It let’s people know that we really can make an impact,” Williams said.

Administration monitored the protesting. Mr. Tyson Crockett, dean of students, supported the protesters and admired their ability to lead a peaceful rally in a respectful manner.

“I think school should absolutely be a safe place for discussion and for kids to voice their opinions about issues that are relevant to their lives,” Crockett said. “[Hopkins is] more welcoming to opinions and beliefs and more open for someone to feel safe and comfortable in our environment.”

Williams believes that a protest won’t be enough to stop racial inequality. She said that she and Steven Johnson, senior, are creating a documentary about the unjust treatment of Michael Brown and other racial profiling cases.

“We need to stop this violence and crime someway and somehow. And if doing it by protest [and video] will bring people’s attention, then that’s the way we’ll do it.”