I don’t know what it
feels like to be an African American in the United States today. I also
don’t know what it feels like to be a police officer. But I am an
American who believes deeply in the importance of citizenship and leadership. I’m seeing both today at UIS, as the attached photograph demonstrates.
If we’re going to make things better in our country in the wake of the
traumatic recent events in Ferguson, Missouri and New York City, we will
need citizens and leaders like these UIS students – who are demonstrating their
concerns peacefully and effectively on the UIS campus today. My
congratulations to Robyn Crutchfield, Lisa Gary, Tieshah Hawkins and
other members of the UIS Black Student Union who organized the demonstration
today. That’s what I call “Leadership lived.”