okmana

as noted on the Louisville Students for Justice in Palestine (LSJP) instagram page, this week witnessed an attempt to start a protest encampment, named the Maryam Abu Daqqa Liberated Zone, demanding the University of Louisville (UofL) disclose its investment portfolio & divest from all “consortium partners that have financial ties to Israel and/or weapons manufacturers,” among other demands.

it was taken apart in mere hours. one person was arrested (“detained”) in the attempt, & the school has banned the SJP chapter from organizing, as well as at least 2 individuals from setting foot on campus. the suspension was a response not just to the encampment, but also student protest of an inauguration ceremony for the new university president, Gerry Bradley.

like countless other slavery-fueled universities in the hemisphere, UofL has its own police department, ULPD, which disbanded the gathering. the school also collaborates with the city of lousiville's main police force, LMPD, & during the 2020 uprising against anti-Black police violence UofL clarified it has no intention of ending that collaboration. the university is governed by a board of trustees of the city's wealthy elite; most of its members are appointed by the governor of kentucky.

while there have been sporadic small protests alongside other forms of activism, no one working on the okmana project has heard of any other attempts at pro-Palestine university occupations in the state of kentucky since october 7 2023.

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