More than 50 students gathered in Potomac Square on Thursday night to honor the life of Marcellus Williams, whom the State of Missouri executed on Sept. 24.
Four student organizations — including Black Defiance, GW Dissenters, the Muslim Students’ Association and the Black Student Union — hosted a vigil in memory of Williams. Students read poems and encouraged each other to continue to advocate for injustices in their everyday lives while building community among one another.
Sophomore Destiny Tillear, the director of advocacy for BSU, began the ceremony by inviting students to read poems to honor Williams’s life, which were passed out before the start of the ceremony.
A representative of the DMV Students for Justice in Palestine read one of Williams’ poems titled “The perplexing smiles of the children of Palestine” about Williams’ solidarity with the people and children in Palestine.
“Even in his last days, Marcellus Khaliifah Williams showed unwavering solidarity with the Palestinian people, which we can only hope to repay,” the representative said. “We know our struggles are intertwined, and our liberation only comes with the liberation of all peoples, especially after the imperial state’s murder of Imam Williams.”
Williams was convicted for the murder of Felicia Gayle, a former St. Louis Post-Dispatch reporter, in 2001. His attorneys argued that new DNA evidence released in August suggests the knife he was accused of using to kill Gayle had been mishandled prior to his 2001 trial.
Williams spent much of his 23 years in prison studying Islam and crafting poetry, according to the Innocence Project. He served as the imam for incarcerated Muslim people at Potosi Correctional Center in Missouri and was known as “Khaliifah,” or leader in Arabic, the website states.
Attendees gathered in a semicircle around Williams’ vigil which included four photos of him and his family centered around one white candle. Flowers, white and yellow candles circled around the photos as students held out candles and bouquets.
Tillear opened the floor for attendees to share any commentary. One student encouraged others to mobilize and email Texas Governor Greg Abbott to stop the execution of Robert Robertson as student marshals passed out a QR code that takes people to the Innocence Project’s page that encourages people to call, email or tweet at Abbott demanding he stop Robertson’s scheduled execution on Oct. 17.
Robertson was sentenced to the death penalty in 2003 for allegedly killing his two-year-old daughter whose conditions doctors and nurses testified were aligned with shaken baby syndrome. In 2016, the Court of Criminal Appeals halted his execution and sent it back to the trial court because the scientific consensus around the condition became questioned as doctors believed it has been incorrectly used in criminal cases to justify unexplained infant deaths.
“It has been disproven, and he won’t be executed because y’all are going to take action,” the student said.
Tillear said society should never normalize the killing of innocent Black men and the systematic killing of Black people that has existed since they first arrived in the U.S.
“It kind of sucks being a Black student who’s constantly having to mourn black bodies,” Tillear said. “It’s not normal. This isn’t normal. We’re not supposed to wake up and open our phones and see they’re about to kill a Black man.
Another student said in a speech that people have normalized “terrible” things that occur but everyone has the opportunity to spread information and educate others.
“We don’t have much power as individuals, but collectively it’s the only way we should change,” the student said. “Personally, I want to implore you to spend more time having conversations about these things that are happening and other things that are bad in the society because nobody else is going to show up for you, unless you can increase everybody’s consciousness.”
Another student said in a speech that living in the U.S. is a “uniquely guilty experience” because it was built on land inhabited by indigenous people and encouraged others to take advantage of the voice they have and advocate for issues they care about.
“It sucks so much that so many people have to die, continue to die for change, but it’s not a fruitless effort,” the student said. “What we do and what we say in this country has precedent that it sets around the world.”
One student said while change is needed, it is important to acknowledge the hurt Black students, mothers, fathers, children and communities are facing.
“It’s important to use whatever privilege you do have to address that and to acknowledge the fact that your Black counterparts are in pain every time we see that another one of us would be murdered for no reason,” the student said. “This stuff is happening and it keeps happening.”
Organizers broke for prayer around 9 p.m. Prayer mats laid in the middle of the square to allow Muslim students to pray. Some students gathered tightly in a circle around the vigil as one attendee led a Christian prayer.
The vigil concluded with closing speeches from representatives of each of the sponsoring organizations. One representative of Black Defiance said William’s execution serves as a reminder of the systemic racism still existing today and for people to build community among one another.
“I hope tonight you have felt this place to be in community with one another, and more, in a campus and within a world that has very little value for Black existence, especially Black grief,” the representative said.
