During the Coral Springs City Commission Meeting, on June 28, Nigel Alexis, Black Student Union (BSU) co-president, stood before a panel of commissioners to share his thoughts about Rubin Stacy and racial inequality in America. Stacy, a farm hand, was lynched by a mob in 1935 on what is now Davie Blvd after an unconfirmed sexual assault accusation from a white woman.
The BSU began this opportunity to bring racial injustice to light through the Community Remembrance Project of the Equal Justice Initiative Organization (EJI), which aims to “memorialize documented victims of racial violence and foster meaningful dialogue about race and justice.” The project that planned to bring Rubin Stacy’s lynching to light reached the city commission and Alexis was invited to the meeting, where the City Commissioners would decide whether they supported the memorialization of Rubin Stacy by naming a street after him.
The club will continue working with EJI to educate the public.
“We plan to continue our focus on, of course, the many civil rights activists from both the past and present who have fought for racial equality in America along with a number of victims of racial injustice,” Alexis said.
The club focuses on making people conscious of injustices and in doing so, hopes to be a part of the effort to create a more equal America. “We are working with EJI, or the Equal Justice Initiative, to inform others, especially those in power, of the importance of commemorating and acknowledging a history of racial injustices,” Eva Pierre-Antoine, co-president of BSU, said.
Through all of their efforts the club hopes to spread awareness. By spreading awareness, through EJI, the club can help commemorate more victims in addition to Rubin Stacy. “The BSU wants to spread awareness in order to bring the many issues that America has pertaining to race to light, making more people conscious of such issues. In doing so, we hope to eventually have some of these individuals become part of the effort to create a more equal America,” Alexis said.
