
Florida A&M University’s Tucker Hall transformed into a powerful space of truth, remembrance and reflection on April 22 as students, faculty and community members gathered for the annual exhibition titled “New Age Lynching: Police Brutality and Its Impact on Communities of Color.”
The event, hosted by Tiffany Packer and her Black Americans in the 20th Century students, opened with a student panel, where participants shared their personal experiences with law enforcement and the emotional journey of researching their assigned cases. The panel included students Elyza Kate, a journalism major; Rachel Dean, a social science education major; and Jah’mal Lapomarel, a broadcast journalism major.
“This project opened my eyes,” Kate said. “Police brutality is a big issue, but I also realized many officers don’t know how to handle mental health situations. I was taught from a young age to keep my hands on the wheel, stay calm, and always record — just to survive a traffic stop.”
Dean, who has family in law enforcement, described being wrongfully detained at age 15 despite being respectful and cooperative. “I was walking in the rain with a duffle bag, and police said I matched the description of a male suspect,” she said. “It taught me that we walk around with targets on our backs. We have to speak up for those who no longer can.”
Lapomeral reflected on how the project hit close to home. “My dad always changed when police were around. I didn’t understand until I got older,” he said. “Now I know — for many of us, the police don’t feel like protection. They feel like a threat.”
Following the panel, a moving video compilation played, showing victims’ final moments, media clips, and emotional pleas from their families. The visual impact left many in the room in tears.

Packer, chair of FAMU’s Department of History, Geography, and African American Studies, founded the exhibition more than 10 years ago. She said her inspiration came after learning about the death of Jonathan Ferrell, a former FAMU student killed by police in Charlotte, North Carolina, while seeking help after a car crash.
“I couldn’t sleep,” Packer said. “I went to class and saw my students were hurting, so instead of teaching that day, I challenged them to become student activists. I quoted Jay-Z: ‘I can’t see it coming down my eyes, so I gotta make the song cry.’ That’s what this work is — making the world see us, hear us.”
Students were tasked with selecting a victim of police brutality and telling their story — not just how they died, but how they lived. They were charged with becoming modern-day Ida B. Wells, humanizing victims who are often reduced to hashtags and statistics.
“I would argue, as a scholar, that policing today has taken the place of lynching,” Packer said. “It doesn’t matter what you’re doing, what you’re wearing, what time of day — it can still happen.
Our goal is to show the humanity of these people. They were just like us — students, parents, athletes, artists. They had dreams.”
Though emotional, the event was not anti-police, Packer emphasized.
“This is about building transparency between communities and people in power,” she said. “So that maybe, just maybe, the next time an officer pulls someone over, they’ll think twice.”
The exhibit concluded with a reflection wall where attendees left anonymous thoughts and reactions.
“This needs to be exhibited everywhere,” one message read. “Putting faces and stories to names makes these people more than just a statistic.”
Another wrote, “This genuinely hurt to watch. Something must change. We deserve better — to be protected, honored, and loved.”
Packer closed the event with a charge for collective responsibility.
“We used to bring law enforcement to these panels to share their perspectives,” she said. “But sometimes, we need a safe space to speak freely. I believe we can’t wait for another Martin Luther King Jr. You are the movement. You are the legacy. Even if the change doesn’t happen in your lifetime — you plant the seed.”
