Activists to join student organizers for Black Lives Matter march

Community activists will join with student organizers and members of the Salve Regina community for a Black Lives Matter march through campus at 2:30 p.m. Tuesday, March 1.

Members of the University community are invited to join organizers from the Multicultural Student Organization outside Our Lady of Mercy Chapel, where community activist Diana Garlington will offer opening remarks along with Berlenise Castillo ’16 and Tannis Neal ’16.

From the chapel, the group will walk through a campus route that includes Ochre Court, Rodgers Recreation Center, Wakehurst and McKillop Library before returning to the chapel, where a moment of silence will be observed. Activist Kobi Dennis will then offer remarks. Refreshments and debriefing will follow at 3:30 p.m. in the Mercy Center.

Garlington founded the Essence T. Christal Memorial Foundation in 2014 in the name of her late daughter Essence, who was tragically murdered in 2011. The program provides mentorship, professional development and domestic violence abuse prevention and support. The co-founder and current president of the #300Women Organization, she is a member of the Black Lives Matter Movement, NAACP, the National Coalition Against Domestic Violence and CBAA.

Dennis is a Providence resident, naval veteran and community leader who founded Project Night Vision, a program to provide care and services for inner-city youth. He is also involved with Partnership to Address Violence through Education, the Steven K. Latimer Foundation and the YMCA of Greater Providence.