Behrend and Erie residents filled McGarvey Commons to observe prominent activist Bree Newsome discuss the history of the Confederate flag, racism, and what she called consciousness in a speech titled “Tearing Hatred from the Sky.”

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Newsome was the featured speaker for Behrend’s final installment of this academic year’s Speaker Series. She became a nationally recognized figure in 2015 for scaling a 30-foot flagpole on the South Carolina state house grounds and removing the Confederate flag, for which she was arrested.

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“There were about 12 of us involved in this action,” said Newsome. “There was only about four days between when we decided that we were going to do it and when we actually did it. Most of my focus for that time was learning how to scale the pole and obviously the danger.”

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In the aftereffects of the flag tearing, Newsome received national recognition and various awards, most notably collecting the NAACP Chairman’s Award in 2016 – an award that has been received by the likes of Barack Obama and Harry Belafonte. She has travelled to colleges across the country, even as far as Alaska, to speak about her activist experience and actions. After tearing down the flag, Newsome described her newfound prominence as a “whirlwind” of surprise.

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“We knew that there would be a lot of media attention that would come with it. I was expecting that, but you can only prepare up to a certain point, said Newsome. “I feel like I’m more adjusted to it. I really enjoy the travelling and speaking. On one hand, I remain very humbled and awed by the impact that the action had.”

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Not all of the feedback over the past two years has been positive for Newsome.

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“I will occasionally get hate messages. It was of course much more intense immediately after the action. I’m not surprised by it,” said Newsome.

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At a recent February speech at the College of Charleston, Newsome’s appearance at the South Carolina college was met with protest from members of the South Carolina Secessionists Party.

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“I’m particularly not surprised that it was in Charleston where there was a protest of my speaking. I haven’t experienced people protesting me speak anywhere else, but it’s obviously much more raw of an issue in South Carolina and Charleston than it is in other places.”

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Despite this, she detailed that she has received much more appreciation and positivity than negativity.

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In her speech on the evening of March 22nd, Newsome detailed the history of American slavery, the Confederacy, and the Civil Rights Movement of the 1900s. She wove this history into the story about her own journey to what she called “consciousness” or staying “woke”.

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“I share my personal story of what brought me to that moment [tearing down the flag] because obviously that doesn’t happen over night,” said Newsome. “In telling my story, I ask everyone to examine where they are, to examine what is at stake in the times, and just really consider what each of us can do.”

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After her speech, Newsome answered a multitude of political, social, and personal questions from audience members.

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“You don’t know how much you being here on this campus and speaking here means to people like me. It is so empowering,” said Alexandria Johnson, President of the Association of Black Collegians, before asking Newsome a question.

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Johnson’s sentiment was not singular. Several audience members from age four to 90 were present in the audience, and they engaged and took pictures with Newsome after the event. An approachable Newsome posed for every picture and spoke to every audience member who approached her. One of key points that she stressed was the importance that anyone can be an activist like her.

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“One of the things I really try to challenge people to think of is to expand their understanding of what activism is. I think a lot of times people’s image of activism is an action as dramatic as what I did,” said Newsome. “That can be good and bad. The downside of it is that sometimes folks feel that unless they’re doing something that dramatic then there’s nothing they can do that’s worthwhile, so I really try to challenge people to think beyond that.”