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Bemidji State students host solidarity rally after death of Daunte Wright

About 50 people, mostly Bemidji State students, held a solidarity rally on Thursday, April 15, along Bemidji Avenue after the recent death of 20-year-old Daunte Wright at the hands of Brooklyn Center police.

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Bemidji State students and Zoe Carrasco, third from right, president of BSU’s Black Student Union, hold a solidarity rally on Thursday, April 15, 2021, along Bemidji Avenue after the recent death of Daunte Wright in Brooklyn Center, Minn. (Jillian Gandsey / Bemidji Pioneer)

BEMIDJI -- About 50 people, mostly Bemidji State students, held a solidarity rally on Thursday, April 15, along Bemidji Avenue after the recent death of 20-year-old Daunte Wright at the hands of Brooklyn Center police.

Zoe Carrasco, president of BSU's Black Student Union, posted fliers on social media and organized the event, where attendees held signs and cheered to the sound of honking cars.

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"I really want to keep the momentum going that's happening in this fight against social injustice and against the disparities that are seen in the criminal justice system," Carrasco said.

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About 50 people, mostly Bemidji State students, held a solidarity rally on Thursday, April 15, 2021, along Bemidji Avenue after the recent death of Daunte Wright in Brooklyn Center, Minn. (Jillian Gandsey / Bemidji Pioneer)

BSU's Black Student Union got off the ground in the 2019-20 academic year with Carrasco at the helm. The group has held several peaceful demonstrations at the Lake Bemidji waterfront.

"Even though we're kind of far away from everything that's happening in the cities I just want people in Bemidji to know that there are people here that care about this issue," Carrasco said.

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Bemidji State students hold signs and a Black Lives Matter flag along Bemidji Avenue during a solidarity rally on Thursday, April 15, 2021, after the recent death of Daunte Wright in Brooklyn Center, Minn. (Jillian Gandsey / Bemidji Pioneer)

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Wright was shot and killed on Sunday, April 11, by former Brooklyn Center police officer Kimberly Potter, who allegedly thought she was firing a Taser but instead shot Wright with her firearm. She has been charged with second-degree manslaughter .

Police say Wright was pulled over for expired tabs and that they sought to arrest him after discovering he had an outstanding warrant. Body camera footage shows Potter approaching Wright outside of his vehicle while another officer is arresting him. Wright and the officer began struggling and Potter shouts that she's going to use her Taser, but instead fired a single shot from her handgun.

Protesters have clashed with law enforcement in Brooklyn Center for several nights since Wright's death all while the trial of Derek Chauvin, the officer charged with murdering George Floyd, is ongoing at the Hennepin County Courthouse just several miles away.

Another solidarity rally in Bemidji, hosted by Project for Change, is set for 3 to 4 p.m. on Sunday, April 18, in Paul Bunyan Park. The event, " ," can be found on Facebook.

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