Despite the sun starting to set earlier in the evening and the weather growing colder, CSUN’s Black Student Union (BSU) set up a Candlelight Ceremony for Marcellus Williams with enough chairs, candles and fliers on Oct. 29 in Plaza Del Sol in the University Student Union (USU) for all students and staff on campus to attend.

The event featured four speakers: Black House Senior Coordinator Ryan Murphy, Project Rebound student, Timmy Tyson, CSUN’s Muslim Chaplain Suhail Mulla, and Abraham Milton from the Division of Student Affairs University Counseling Services, on stage to speak about Williams, a 55-year-old Black man wrongfully convicted of the death of Felicia Gayle, a white woman, in 1998 despite inconsistent witness testimonies and a lack of concrete evidence.

Despite millions of petitions from across the country calling for his release, William was sentenced to death on Sept. 24, 2024 by the state of Missouri. BSU’s flier states that his trail, “saturated with racial prejudice, exemplified the deep flaws of a biased judicial system.”

The Black House at CSUN volunteered Tyson, a sociology major and student who had experience speaking out about his life as a formerly incarcerated individual in prison and in mosques in L.A.

Tyson, who plans to earn his clinical license to be a social worker after he graduates in 2026, served 37 years in prison beginning at 18. He shared his perspective on social justice and what it means both within and outside of prison.

“I can’t not show up to events like these, it’s too important,” Tyson said, gesturing to the set up as students started to show up. “This is just an extension of that experience, of being in the movement of social change, social justice.”

As a Muslim,Tyson said he felt an attachment to Williams, reflecting on how studying the historical concept of mass incarceration.

“His last words were, ‘All praise be to Allah in every situation.’ So in the midst of him being murdered, getting ready to be murdered, he still recognized God’s glory,” said Tyson. “And so, you know, just that, and giving God that glory made me feel a connection and a compassion and empathy and sympathy that I wouldn’t have had without that. But it just made it closer, just like if it was a family. We see ourselves as a family.”

Throughout his time as a speaker, Tyson explained, he aims to educate others about politics and mass incarceration for those who don’t have family members previously incarcerated or impacted or call themselves political.

“We want to try and bring that to their attention,” Tyson said. “This can happen, and it will continue to happen, if not to you, then someone in your family. At some point in your lifetime. So even though it might not be meaningful to you now, it will be at some point in your life.”

BSU President Hermoni Douglas, who helped organize the event, welcomed attendees as they entered the plaza.

“This event is very important,” Douglas said. “As Black Student Union president, I want to make sure our Black student community understands what’s happening in our country. Especially since some Black students are not politically educated on what’s happening, like execution or the bills that are passed. The only way that we can stop this is using our voice in events like this and voting.”

In her opening speech, Douglas welcomed and recognized Event Coordinator Alexi Penrice as the main organizer of the ceremony.

Penrice had learned about Williams’ death and proposed the idea for a memorial to the BSU. She built on the group’s previous advocacy efforts, including an Instagram post about Sonya Massey, a Black woman who was fatally shot by a police officer in her own home in Illinois in July.

“We should do it and bring awareness and then also let kids know on campus that they are heard,” said Penrice. “That’s why we reached out to the university’s counseling center so when stuff like this happens and affects the Black community, you know, people are not going outside and doing bad things, but having someone to talk to and learning how to peacefully protest.”

Penrice also included Project Rebound and their resources and events listed on their own Instagram page, which encouraged students to vote.

“Voting definitely affects us in the long run, and a lot of people, a lot of kids, a lot of students, they really aren’t really familiar with voting,because it’s a lot of freshmen who aren’t even registered to vote. They are hearing about it, but they don’t know what goes into it, and they think their opinion doesn’t matter. But right now this election is very crucial, very critical to our events. Just our issues in general.”

Students can find more information on CSUN’s Black Student Union events on BSU’s Instagram and contact information on their official MataSync web page.