Black Lives Matter Group Plans Protest at Marist Friday

CHICAGO, IL — A Black Lives Matter group is planning a protest that will conclude at Marist High School in Mount Greenwood on Friday.

A Facebook event, a “protest against racism and Trump’s hate,” indicates dozens of people plan to meet at Wrigley Square in Millennium Park at noon on Friday, Nov. 11 then ride CTA buses until they arrive at Marist, the co-educational Catholic high school west of Pulaski on 115th Street.

The protest is planned by Black Lives Matter Youth, a group of six black teenage girls that aims “to validate and amplify the voices of young black people in the BLM movement,” according to the event’s information.

Other black students at Chicago Public Schools also plan on participating, according to a DNAinfo Chicago report.

The protest was called in the wake of the fatal shooting of 25-year-old Indianapolis man Joshua Beal on Saturday in the Far South Side neighborhood. Beal was shot and killed by an off-duty police officer on 111th and Troy after allegedly pointing a gun during a traffic altercation.

“The reactions of the people in Mt. Greenwood to the murder of Joshua Beal have been outrageous,” according to the event listing. “A knowingly racist neighborhhod (sic), Black students and others are constantly threatened and put in danger. We are coming together to show solidarity wit (sic) the students at Marist highschool (sic) after racist events, and the family of Joshua Beal who was murdered by an off-duty police on Saturday.”

In the days after the shooting, Marist found itself at the center of the controversy when reports surfaced that the school is investigating a text message in which a student at the school allegedly used a racial slur to discuss the shooting of Beal.

Related: Marist Will Take Disciplinary Action Over Student’s Racially Charged Tweet

Marist has indicated on its website it is aware of the protest threat but has assured parents their children will be safe.

“As the events in the nearby community continue to unfold we want to communicate that we are aware of a planned protest coming to Marist High School on Friday, November 11. Let it be clear that Marist has no affiliation with this event,” the school’s statement read.

“We have been in contact with the Chicago Police Department (CPD), Alderman Matt O’Shea, the Alsip Police Department, and the Cook County Sheriff. The CPD will be on campus and we have increased our own Marist security team on campus.”

As Marist is a private school on private property, no unauthorized person or group will be allowed on the campus.

The protest is expected to be complete by 5 p.m. Participants are expected to wear all black.

Image via Facebook event