On Wednesday, thousands of Black college students across the nation rocked some kind of denim in support of the third annual Denim Day at HBCUs, a campaign to raise attention about sexual violence against women.

Denim Day was started back in 1999 to protest the ruling of an Italian High Court that overturned a rape conviction because the victim was wearing tight jeans, a press release stated.

This year, 3,500 students at HBCUs Clark Atlanta University, Coppin State University, Howard University, Lemoyne-Owen College, Morehouse College, Morgan State University, Norfolk State University and Prairie View A&M University pledged to wear jeans and a “Denim Day” T-shirt to show their solidarity with the movement.

"Today there is a movement of African-American students who visibly stand united as one HBCU campus for Denim Day, recognizing their role as champions for survivors in eliminating shame, stigma and blame—one fellow student at a time," said Amelia Cobb, the director of Ending Violence Against Women, which is one of the sponsors of the event.

The initiative was funded by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office on Women’s Health and health consultancy the Wright Group.

(Photo:www.prnewswire.com)