Chapel Hill, NC – A diverse group of over 120 students braved heavy rains to rally on UNC Chapel Hill's campus, Sept. 21, in protest of the scheduled execution of [Troy Davis](/tags/troy-davis). The students held signs saying “I am Troy Davis”, “Stop the execution”, and “Abolish the death penalty”.

The demonstration had a large turnout despite being organized in just under a day, and featured speakers from [Black Student Movement](/tags/black-student-movement), [Students for a Democratic Society](/tags/students-democratic-society), the [NAACP](tags/naacp), and other student organizations. Students chanted “We want justice for Troy Davis!” and sang civil rights songs such as “We shall not be moved”.

Rev. Curtis Gatewood of the NAACP spoke last, giving a powerful speech punctuated by students chanting “Too much doubt!”. “We need to turn this into a movement against the racist and classist death penalty,” said Rev. Gatewood.

Gatewood also reminded protesters of the parallels to [Darryl Hunt](https://secure.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/wiki/Darryl_Hunt), a North Carolina man who spent two decades on death row for a crime he did not commit. Hunt is now a prominent North Carolina advocate with the Innocence Project working to abolish the death penalty.

Despite the overwhelming odds against Davis, the protesters vowed to continue the fight for justice and civil rights.

#ChapelHillNC #StudentsForADemocraticSociety #NAACP #AfricanAmerican #RacismInTheCriminalJusticeSystem #TroyDavis #BlackStudentMovement #UNCChapelHill #ReverendCurtisGatewood