On Sunday night, about 40 people gathered outside of city hall in Oxford, Mississippi, near the town’s famed statue of William Faulkner, in front of a Palestinian flag that read “Free Palestine”. As more attendees arrived, organizers gave them electric tea candles and flowers to hold during the vigil, held for the estimated 42,000 Palestinians who have been killed since 7 October 2023. The event, organized by UMiss for Palestine, a student activist group at the University of Mississippi, marked a striking departure from its previous solidarity demonstration in May, which drew hundreds of counter-protesters, many of who spewed racist vitriol at the students.

Sunday’s event was reverent, with solemn expressions of grief and remembrance befitting a funeral. According to organizers, those who gathered did so to “honor the martyrs, commit to fight for the living, and stand in solidarity with Palestinians in [their] community and in the rest of the world”.

The May event, which was held on the University of Mississippi’s campus, saw student organizers calling for the state’s flagship college to disclose its endowment investments that pertain to Israel. They demanded that the school divest from military contracts and academic partnerships with Israel, and condemn the genocide in Gaza.

At some point during the protest, the UMiss for Palestine demonstrators were surrounded by counter-protesters who jeered, threw items and made racist remarks before police evacuated the pro-Palestinian students.

One student who made monkey noises at a Black woman was expelled from Phi Delta Theta, his fraternity, which is now on an interim suspension from the university following a separate incident last month. The counter-protesters were widely condemned for their actions, though some, including Mississippi’s governor, Tate Reeves; the Georgia representative Mike Collins; and Donald Trump celebrated their actions.

Sunday’s vigil, however, was monitored by at least half a dozen police officers and a legal observer, and was uninterrupted by outside parties.

Dua’a Matalgah, a psychology major and media liaison for UMiss for Palestine, said that they had a different goal this week. “This event was more about the community and giving space to that community for feeling and sharing our grief and honoring the lives of the martyrs,” she said.

Aala’a, a student with UMiss for Palestine, opened the vigil with a reading of the poem A Prayer for Palestine.

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“We weep. We scream. We listen. We pray. We pour into the streets. We make phone calls. We boycott. We divest. Yet it does not feel like enough. As a people are being turned to rubble,” she read.

Matalgah followed, reading the names of 50 Palestinians who had been killed by Israeli forces since 7 October, before leading a moment of silence.

Another student highlighted the interconnectedness of liberation movements, and called for those gathered to remain hopeful.

“We let the people of Palestine and Lebanon know that their voices are heard, even here in our small town in Mississippi,” she said. “Today, we honor the martyrs who were promised to those still living. Free Lebanon, free Syria and free, free Palestine.”

The impending US election loomed over the demonstration, as an adult speaker who identified himself as Chuck noted that Israel’s war on Gaza did not begin on 7 October.

“The cause of Palestinian genocide does not fall on one US president, does not fall on one imperialist prime minister and does not fall on one sole event,” he said. “It is a long, complicated, historical and systemic process that necessitates an international movement to defeat the imperialist powers that propagate genocide. From South Africa to Vietnam to Ireland to Cuba, us together fight for Palestine to be freed from the river to the sea.”

Matalgah told the Guardian that the focus on the election obfuscated the real problem.

“A lot of people are scared about the results of the election, and I think because of that, they are focusing a lot on it,” she said. “It angers me, though, because I don’t think either candidate will create any change for Palestine.”

At the end of the vigil, organizers passed out stickers and zines with information about UMiss for Palestine and Mississippi for Palestine, a statewide group that has organized and participated in actions across the state, Gulf coast and mid-south.

“If we don’t keep fighting for Palestine, Palestine will not be the end of it,” Matalgah added. “This is a matter that concerns the everyday American just as much as it does as the Palestinians.”