The Stitch Their Names Memorial consists of two large quilts featuring 116 cross-stitched portraits of Black people who died as a result of racially motivated attacks.
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Jai’Ree Tannan stepped onto the stage erected in the shadow of the police union’s headquarters in Los Angeles’ Westlake neighborhood.
The 20-year-old stood away from the microphone, listening intently as a fellow student activist gave voice to the crowd. “We got cops off campus,” the female speaker declared. “We did that!”
Tannan nodded proudly. “Woooo!” cheered the crowd that had gathered on a recent afternoon for the rally organized by Black Lives Matter Los Angeles.
Following a prolonged campaign led by students, including Tannan, the L.A. Board of Education in February approved a plan to drastically shrink its police force on LAUSD campuses, ban the use of pepper spray on students and use the diverted funds to improve the education of Black students.