Brendan joins the Michael Brown protest march

Brendan joins the Michael Brown protest march at Berkshire State University after Amber, an acquaintance from the Autism Awareness Network, spots him in the library and asks him to take part. The scene turns his uncertainty into action: drawn into a moving crowd, he finds himself chanting, holding Amber’s hand, and celebrating with the protesters outside.

The Protest Enters the Library

Before the march reaches him, Brendan is trying to concentrate on a book about melting glaciers and rising sea levels, while the persistent crackle of a nearby student chewing gum keeps drawing his attention. The arrival of about twenty protesters comes as a relief. They enter together near the main entrance, looking around and whispering like a tour group; students at Brendan’s table respond with eye rolls and complaints. The library, already charged by small irritations and disapproval, becomes a stage for a much larger dispute.

The protesters arrange themselves in single file down the center aisle. At the front of Brendan’s view, a blue-haired girl with black lipstick glances nervously at a Muslim girl wearing a headscarf. They raise their arms and begin, “Hands up! Don’t shoot!” The first attempt is uneven: some protesters join late, and a voice from a table calls, “He was a thug!” The two girls lift their arms higher and answer with more conviction. As the line advances, the chant grows louder through repetition.

Brendan has heard about the Michael Brown protests taking place around campus, as well as complaints that demonstrators interrupt classes and sporting events. This is the first protest he has witnessed. He sees the library demonstration differently from those complaints: its chant fills a quiet space, and its growing confidence makes the disruption feel, to him, unexpectedly compelling.

Amber’s Invitation

As the line passes Brendan’s table, one marcher waves. He recognizes Amber from the Autism Awareness Network only after she has left the line and come directly toward him. She greets him with excitement and asks where he has been, saying that the group missed him at its last meeting. Brendan points to his book and explains that he has had too much work.

Amber’s invitation arrives while Brendan is unsure what to make of the protest’s subject. He has heard conflicting accounts of Michael Brown: whether Brown was minding his own business or had robbed a store, and whether he was surrendering or reaching for a police officer’s gun. He does not know which version to believe. He tells Amber that the situation is wrong, and her smile makes him feel as though he has passed a test. She holds out her hand and tells him that the protesters need his voice.

Brendan does not join without hesitation. He feels shy and worries about the backpack he has left at the table. Amber urges him to say the chant as though he means it. His decision is therefore both public and personal: he steps away from his book and his belongings, answering an invitation from someone who recognizes him and remembers his absence.

Through the Stacks

At first, the march meets heckling, but some library patrons rise from their seats and join the line. Brendan moves with the expanding procession past the circulation desk and through the stacks toward the Computer Commons. The protest is no longer confined to the line that first appeared in the central aisle; its route draws more people into motion and carries the chant across the library floor.

Participation changes how the march feels to Brendan. The chant becomes easier the more he repeats it, and the experience becomes fun. Some people sway; others raise their arms in celebration. For a while, Brendan and Amber hold hands, their arms lifted as if they have won a medal. The gesture gives their participation a shared, jubilant shape, distinct from the uncertainty with which Brendan first watched the demonstrators and assessed what he had heard about Brown.

The group makes three circuits of the main floor before leaving through the metal detector, chanting throughout. Brendan’s movement from watcher to marcher is marked not by a settled judgment about every disputed account, but by his willingness to join the people around him. The library’s aisles and stacks become the route of a collective action, while the repeated chant binds the march together.

Outside the Library

The protesters emerge into a chilly October night, high-fiving and congratulating one another. Amber hugs Brendan, with moonlight shining on her hair. The scene ends on this physical, shared affirmation: after entering the protest shy and distracted by his abandoned backpack, Brendan leaves with the crowd and is embraced by the person who brought him in.

Back in his room, Brendan wants to tell Zack about the protest. Before he can shrug off his backpack, Zack pulls off his headphones and sits up. That brief aftermath carries the event beyond the library: Brendan returns wanting to recount what happened, while the narrative moves on before his story to Zack is told. The march’s decisive change is already clear, however. A campus protest he had previously encountered only through reports and conflicting claims has become something he joined bodily, moving three times around the library and out into the night.