The youth of the entertainment industry made their voices heard by leading a 1,500 people peaceful protest in the city of Burbank, CA. Organizers, Reed Shannon and Natalie Kinlow did not know what to expect when they released the flyer for the protest, just the night before on Instagram. The protest was approved by the Burbank Police Department and showed to be exactly what the city of Burbank needed.
The energy in the air was overwhelming. People of all backgrounds, races, and religions came together in the fight against racial injustice and police brutality.
Everyone played their part.
Tears flowed as the crowd kneeled in silence for 8 minutes and 46 seconds. The daunting amount of time police officer Derek Chauvin had his knee on George Floyd's neck, which led to his untimely death. As the crowd marched from McCambridge park to Town Hall, others in cars stopped on the sidewalks to pass out water and snacks -protecting against the scorching heat. Groups in cars drove by waving signs adorning "Black Lives Matter," honking, and shouting in solidarity. As we continued to walk, people came out of their homes, on the balcony's of their apartment buildings and onto their front porches chanting in support.
President Barack Obama said the protests going on all over the country, this time is "different" compared to the Civil Rights movement of the '60s. That the diversity in the people who are using their voices is representing a change and shift in society as a whole, that we have never experienced before in the United States. As I marched, I cried. I thought about my great-grandmother who attended the March On Washington. I thought about my future and the future of my younger relatives. I thought about the state of black people across the diaspora.
It was reiterated that this will be a continued effort. That the fight and passion toward ending racial injustice and police brutality in this nation has so much further to go. I believe in the words Reed Shannon repeated as if planting a seed of reform, "We are the change that we want to see."
We aren't talking about it, we're acting on it and implementing it. It started with our ancestors. It's continuing with young leaders, like Reed Shannon and Natalie Kinlow.
It's continuing with you and me.
Comments