More than 200 members of the Johns Hopkins community—faculty, staff, students, alumni, and neighbors of the university’s campuses—assembled along Charles Street on Thursday for a peaceful demonstration in solidarity with the protests that have taken place around the country since the death of George Floyd on May 25. The demonstrators also advocated for change within Johns Hopkins itself, calling for more black university leaders and faculty members and for more opportunities for black employees.

James Calvin, a member of the Hopkins faculty for more that 20 years, said the university has an opportunity to set a positive example for the rest of the country and the world as a place that is inclusive and equitable for people of color. A professor of management and organization at the Caray Business School and the interim director of the Center for Africana Studies, Calvin said he’s proud of the strides Hopkins has made so far, but that there is still work to do.

“Universities play a key role in society, and if we can’t do here the things we ask society to do, then what’s our value?” he said. ” As a preeminent institution that seeks to create knowledge, we have the opportunity – through our students, staff, and faculty, and through what I like to call the far-flung Hopkins empire – to truly to make change possible.