University of St. Thomas leaders reached out to the campus community in multiple emails midweek, responding to the death of 46-year-old George Floyd, a black man who was handcuffed and died Monday in Minneapolis after an officer kneeled on his neck for almost eight minutes.

In footage recorded by a bystander, Floyd can be seen pleading that he can’t breathe as Officer Derek Chauvin, who is white, kneels on his neck. As minutes pass, Floyd slowly stops talking and moving.

University response

Kha Yang, St. Thomas’ associate vice president for inclusive excellence and St. Thomas President Julie Sullivan wrote in an email Wednesday, “The images we have seen violate all that we know is right.”

“Many of you are making your voices heard, through calls to public officials, through education, through protests, and through the personal care and attention you are giving to your classmates, students and colleagues,” Yang and Sullivan wrote. “We stand in solidarity with the City of Minneapolis and its residents. We are stronger together in creating a more just and equitable society.”

In their email, Yang and Sullivan announced a Thursday afternoon Zoom session hosted by Student Diversity and Inclusion Services. In the gathering, St. Thomas community members discussed and reflected on the situation.

College of Arts and Sciences Dean Yohuru Williams sent an email Thursday, addressing CAS faculty, staff and students.

“It is in these moments that we should all be reminded– especially in the College of Arts and Sciences, that the common thread that unites all of our work, be it scientific or sociological, philosophical, or theological, is the emphasis on our shared humanity,” Williams wrote.

“The act of witnessing injustice is not enough. It must lead us to contemplative action.”

In their email, Yang and Sullivan reminded those in need of support to contact various campus resources.

Community unrest continues

Protesters angered by Floyd’s death gained access to a Minneapolis police precinct on Thursday, the third straight night of violent protests that also spread beyond the city.

Video showed the protesters entering the building, where fire alarms blared and sprinklers ran as blazes were set. Police appeared to have left the building located in the neighborhood not far from where Floyd died Monday.

Dozens of businesses across the Twin Cities were boarding up their windows and doors earlier Thursday in an effort to prevent looting, with the Minneapolis-based Target announcing it was temporarily closing two dozen area stores. Minneapolis shut down nearly its entire light-rail system and all bus service through Sunday out of safety concerns.

Around midday Thursday, the violence spread a few miles away to St. Paul, Minnesota’s Midway neighborhood, where police said 50 to 60 people rushed a Target attempting to loot it. Police and state patrol squad cars later blocked the entrance, but the looting shifted to shops along nearby University Avenue, one of St. Paul’s main commercial corridors, and other spots in the city. By early evening, the windows of more than a dozen stores were smashed, and firefighters were putting out a handful of small blazes.

Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz called in the National Guard on Thursday in response to the unrest.

Emily Haugen can be reached at haug7231@stthomas.edu.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.