Campus Echo StaffMultiple police cruisers were parked along Concord Street, and N.C. Central University Police, along with officers from the Durham Police Department and UNC Chapel Hill, were littered throughout Brant Street.
Arriving around 3:00 p.m., they waited to see if the Student Panthers would stand on the Instagram posts they had made at the beginning of the week. Moments passed before Fanon, an NCCU student and Panther who refused to give his last name, sat at the table.
“I’m not afraid of them,” he said. “I go here.”
The subtle breeze between officers and students alike was the calm before the storm, as the speakout rally grew into speeches, marches and five being detained.
At approximately 3:35 p.m., students, like the officers, were scattered throughout the street. The students protested about NCCU’s limited amount of housing, as well as complaints about mold, roaches and flooding.
A crowd didn’t form until Eli, another NCCU student and Panther who refused to give his last name, turned on his megaphone.
“Hey everyone,” he said as he waved his hand around. “We’re over here.”
Instantly, nearby police officers started to converge on the table he was near.
“You guys stay right there,” Eli said, drawing laughter from nearby students.
But they didn’t.
How did we get here?
Since the Panthers’ earlier announcement to hold the protest on Brant Street, Instagram pages NCCULife and NCCUSGA posted a similar photo with the word “CANCELLED” pasted in front of it.
It added that NCCU students’ voices mattered, announcing “Eagle Voices: Real Talk Pulse Check,” an forum where students could ask questions and talk to faculty about housing.
“The first 100 students will receive a Chick-Fil-A sandwich,” the Instagram post wrote.
This talk, which was scheduled from 3:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m., caused an immediate response from the Panthers. They confirmed that the rally was still on and spent the evening posting memes about NCCU’s announcement.
“It wasn’t their event to cancel,” said Sabrina, an NCCU student and Panther who refused to give her last name. “I find them organizing a separate event kinda similar to just asking students to scream into a box.”
As Wednesday began and 3:30 p.m. grew closer, Chancellor Karrie Dixon was notably off campus. The administration was in Raleigh at a legislative event which was focused on securing a “prospective $100 million-plus investment in our facilities through the legislature,” according to the Thursday Communique.
Dixon said in the statement that the administration has been working towards this since she arrived in July 2024.
“Let me be clear: we hear you,” she said in a statement. “We are committed to doing all that is within our resources to improve our housing conditions and inventory.”
As Dixon was trying to reel in funds for the nest, the Panthers, an unauthorized organization, proceeded with the rally without seeking prior approval.
And while Brant Street is identified as a public forum, a space that can be used for expressive activities, NCCU can impose time, manner and place restrictions, according to POL- 40.08.1 On-Campus Residency Requirement Policy.
This method of deciding how long a protest could last, how it can be conducted and where it could be held didn’t happen didn’t happen because the Panthers opted to move forward without approval.
Another decision made during expressive activities is the use of sound equipment, such as Eli’s megaphone.
“The use of sound-amplifying equipment near campus buildings is permitted only in accordance with university guidelines that prevent disruption to academic instruction, research, university operations and residential life,” the policy wrote.
It’s unclear if this was the deciding factor in what came next, but it’s significant as it represents the start to the rally’s speeches, uproar and alleged excessive force.
“It’s just wrong.”
As officers reached for the megaphone, Eli started to back away, trying to keep it from them. The push and pull turned into a scuffle, which ended with the megaphone in police custody and Eli being restrained on the ground.
The scene, which resulted in gasps and screams, was followed by another scuffle between officers and an NCCU adjunct professor of history Daniel “Cole” Atwood. He too, was restrained and placed in handcuffs.
“They’re just showcasing their voice,” said Devin Freeman, a political science senior.
As they walked away, nearly every student had their phone out. If they weren’t taking photos or videos, they told people what they had witnessed.
Moments later, one Black woman, waiving a Pan-African flag and who the Panthers identified as a student, reached for Eli’s megaphone, drawing the officers’ attention. Her arrest, which was captured on video and posted on Fizz, was followed with additional screams and chants.
Sabrina said the community was witnessing a movement.
“It’s powerful,” she said, adding that some officers came at her with pepper spray, though it was never sprayed.
“It’s just wrong. And it sucks.”
Multiple Panthers screamed without the megaphone, speaking to the crowd before opening it up to protesters. Some showed off their signs, one of which read, “Students Unite & Fight,” while a separate crowd in front of the Mary M. Townes Science Building began to form.
Additional students, like Carrie Everett, Miss North Carolina, spoke while faculty, like Assistant Vice Chancellor of Student Engagement William Clemm, witnessed as a bystander.
After some additional cheers, the crowd took their energy to the New Student Center, cheering as they passed dorms, academic and administrative buildings.
Two additional arrests, people who the Panthers identified as students, occurred on the center’s patio. More speeches were made, drawing the attention of SGA, nearby media and students from the Pulse Check forum in the Alfonso Elder Student Union. The crowd grew.
“I’m a political science major with a 4.0 GPA,” NCCU student Jordan Knapper said. “I am a member of NSLS. I am a political science club member. And I am also running for treasurer of the First-Gen Student Advisory Council.
“I live in Benjamin Ruffin, an honors dorm, and we have not had hot water since January.”
Since the protest, the treatment of the protesters by officers has been scrutinized.
The NAACP North Carolina Youth and College Division weighed in Wednesday night in a statement that criticized campus administration and the police.
“Let us be clear: peaceful protest is not a crime,” they said in a statement. “It is a constitutionally protected form of expression, especially when institutions fail to act.”
The chapter also demanded that the five individuals be immediately released and that NCCU provide protective measures and non-retaliatory guarantees for the students and faculty involved.
It’s unclear what this rally meant for NCCU or the Panthers, but Freeman said that he hopes it will create unity for the university.
“I think there needs to be a true sit-down between the panther party as well as the administration,” he said. “Not just putting it all on SGA, but bringing in other clubs, bringing other interest groups here on this campus that mean well and want to do well.”
Story by Chris Frazier and Paige Brown
