Ky Freeman is an IU junior studying secondary English education. Freeman believes in order to form a more equitable approach in a movement, one must understand social mobility and effective relationship building.
His voice is loud and proud — standing firmly on what he believes in.
“When the world is demonstrating to you right now that Black lives don’t matter, you have to really reaffirm your stance on that topic,” Freeman said.
Freeman is a co-founder for the non-profit Enough is Enough. The organization acknowledges the reality of diverse leaders with radical voices. He is also president for Black Student Union and is on the IU Police Department Advisory Council. These positions allow Freeman to use his voice to make real, concrete change within systems.
He strives for effective community policing and a chance to know what’s going on within the system in order to make change. Freeman said he believes IUPD’s stance should align with the progressiveness of the IU community.
“Don’t ever let nobody tell you that being radical is a problem," Freeman said. “If you don’t like something, say something. Closed mouths don’t get fed.”
Freeman believes people should explore every part of their identity and how it affects their position within society.
“Don’t just bring one aspect of your identity to a conversation," he said. "Bring it all in its multifaceted form.”
He said being your authentic self is important, especially for Black students navigating through life at a predominately white institution such as IU.
“Stop trying to change yourself to navigate a white space in a way that society deems as socially acceptable,” Freeman said. “The one thing about your blackness is it’s beautiful, it’s creative and it’s stylistic.”
