Media feature leading role Hana Hawthorne ’22 is playing in local Black Lives Matter protests | Today at Elon

Baltimore-area media recently highlighted the dedicated and extensive work Hana Hawthorne ’22 is doing in her home community to support the Black Lives Matter and anti-racism movements.

Inspired after attending a protest in Washington, D.C., Hawthorne is the organizer of Black Lives and Allies of Arundel County and is playing a leading role in the regular protests in her Maryland hometown. She expected about 50 for the first protest she organized on June 2, but the event drew about 400. The next on June 10 drew more than 600.

“Going to protests motivates people to do more, to take action,” Hawthorne said for a Today at Elon article published earlier this month. “Being there is something else, it’s different and empowering and amazing, and it made me realize how important it was to act locally.”

Hawthorne has seen the protests continue to grow and incorporate people from across her community, with the efforts recognized in a recent article appearing in the Capital Gazette and The Baltimore Sun.

Titled, “Meet the young black women leading the fight for racial equality in Anne Arundel County,” the article offers insight into the dedication of these women to supporting the cause and bringing more people into the movement.

From the article:

Standing on the bed of a pickup truck parked outside Wegmans in Gambrills, 20-year-old Hana Hawthorne faced a sea of mostly white families. She shouted through a megaphone, asking them to take action against racism.

For Hawthorne, bringing protests to Crofton on June 10 meant having its predominantly white community feel the anger and exhaustion of black residents like her. She wants white allies like the many who came out to her protest to educate themselves to learn how to lift up the black community.

“I noticed that there wasn’t really anything in my community, in my county, for black people,” Hawthorne said. “I feel like they should feel safe and supported by their community.”

She wants body cameras on every police officer in Anne Arundel. And she wants white allies like the families who stood in front of her to make that happen.

In the earlier Today at Elon article, Hawthorne said she wants her peers at Elon and beyond to stand up for what is right.

“It’s important for everybody to educate themselves, to read articles about race issues, and for white people, to learn about white privilege and how they can use it,” she said. “And if they are considering attending a protest, do so, because it’s truly empowering.”