A group of student organizations hosted a vigil for victims of political violence on the Spine on Wednesday. The “In Their Names” vigil highlighted political violence against Black people, immigrants, Palestinians and Jewish people while expressing a message of coming together with love in the face of fear.

The vigil was assembled by Undivided, the Thurgood Marshall Pre-Law Society, Students for Justice in Palestine, the Yiddish Bund, Corazoncitos and the Black Student Union. Moderated and organized by Undivided, the vigil opened with a short statement from Precious Ademokun, president of Undivided and a first-year graduate student studying public administration.

“Our goal is to educate the Binghamton community about the various ongoing issues,” Ademokun said. “We also hope to offer a space for victims and those affected to discuss their experiences.”

Members of Undivided then sang an a capella rendition of “Blackbird” by The Beatles.

In an interview with Pipe Dream, Ademokun explained that the vigil was inspired by Undivided’s theme for the year, “America has a problem.”

During the vigil, Binghamton University’s Allied Scholars for Animal Protection hosted a different demonstration on the Spine to advocate for veganism as part of Dr. Faraz Harsini’s visit to the University, who gave a free guest lecture on Thursday. Several people in masks stood holding televisions, which played videos of farm animals being slaughtered. Some police officers were present at the demonstration.

Brandon Fernandez, co-political coordinator for Corazoncitos and TMPS and a junior majoring in political science, argued that the current era of political violence escalated after the events of Jan. 6, 2021.

“Since then, the difficulties based in the United States have only grown and the hateful messaging of figures like President Trump has left little respect for the victims of political violence,” Fernandez said.

He pointed to examples like the 2022 attack on Paul Pelosi, husband of former Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, who was assaulted by an individual motivated by far-right conspiracy theories, and the subsequent spread of misinformation by President Donald Trump.

Antonella Delgado, co-political coordinator for Corazoncitos and a junior majoring in philosophy, politics and law, spoke next, discussing ICE violence and the mistreatment of immigrants in detention centers.

“No one should feel like they’re being targeted on simple grocery runs or going to school,” Delgado said. “Our families should not have to choose between going into work or hiding away in their homes.”

A speaker from Undivided read a list of names of victims of political violence. The list included Renee Good, Alex Pretti, Keith Porter, Breonna Taylor, Bassil Da Costa, Michael Brown, Yasmin Ashraf Mohammed Fayed, Ahmed Alaa Ahmed Hamada, Raja Abdel Hakim Ahmed Zino, Joseph Borgen and Sarah Halimi.

Attendees were then given candles to place on the steps of the Pegasus statue on the spine.

“Using candles as a symbol of hope, we made a promise that we will not let them walk in the dark alone,” Kanaan Distant, Undivided’s historian and a junior majoring in music, wrote in a statement to Pipe Dream. “The vigil was a beautiful gesture of empathy, much needed in today’s world.”

An anonymous speaker from the Students for Justice in Palestine argued that the political violence experienced by Palestinians has occurred for generations.

“An entire nation of people is described as a terrorist entity,” the SJP speaker said. “Men, women and children are likened to murderers just to justify their ethnic cleansing. And this story did not begin in late 2023 when genocide began. The ethnic cleansing of Palestine stretches back over a century.”

BSU used the vigil to honor victims of police brutality in the United States and called attention to the murder of George Floyd and the resulting Black Lives Matter protests. Kyla Harris, the political correspondent for BSU and a junior majoring in psychology, expressed the connection between the violence experienced by Black Americans and Palestinians.

“We cannot demand justice for one group while staying silent on another,” Harris said. “The vision is collective liberation, because no one is free until we are all free.”

The event featured a poster board, where students could leave notes to commemorate victims of political violence. Throughout the speeches, students were invited to add their thoughts to the board.

Next, Joshua Fishkin, vice president of the Yiddish Bund and a sophomore majoring in psychology, spoke on behalf of the organization. He emphasized the importance of building solidarity between marginalized groups, particularly after the Oct. 7, 2023 Hamas-led attacks and the subsequent humanitarian crisis in Gaza.

“Jews as a collective have been held responsible for the actions of a state that falsely claims to speak in our name,” Fishkin said. “Today, we come here as members of our Jewish community and our Binghamton community to mourn the victims of this hatred.”

After speeches, those who attended the vigil were invited to speak. Many in the audience discussed how political violence impacts them personally as queer, immigrant, Black, brown or Palestinian individuals with connections to instances of violence.

Grace Johnston, the vice president of Rainbow Pride Union and a sophomore double-majoring in French and art history, expressed her appreciation for the event as an exercise in intersectionality.

“All minority struggles are interlinked,” Johnston told Pipe Dream before the vigil. “They are all connected and we all need to support each other in order to overcome the oppression that we’re facing right now.”

The event closed with a moment of silence for all victims of political violence.

“Joining a space that cares deeply about these issues and is going to build community around action and around caring for one another and for the issues is what I think will be the most effective and the most promising response to all of the issues brought up, whether it be antisemitism or ICE or police violence or the violence of the state, the violence of capitalism,” Fishkin told Pipe Dream.