Why I Protest by Lauren James

(The Bigger Picture)

by Lauren James

When I was little, I had plenty of fears: monsters under the bed, the dark, spiders, and, honestly, a lot more. But one of my biggest fears was history, specifically, the history of Black people in America. My mom and dad often bought children’s books that told stories of civil rights heroes and slavery, but these books terrified me. Bad dreams came after reading each one. Knowing that the color of my skin — the same color as Harriet Tubman, Martin Luther King, Jr., and Rosa Parks — could one day be my worst enemy was terrifying for my five-year-old self. Eventually I got over this fear and began to embrace African-American history because, unfortunately, our school systems fail to teach it to us.

George Floyd’s death sparked a revolution. After I sat down with my family to watch the gut-wrenching 10-minute video, I escaped to my room and cried. As a Black girl who attends a mostly-white private school in the heart of the south I

choose my words very carefully: “Don’t speak too black!” “Don’t get into political arguments with people.” “Look the other way when someone says something bigoted and racist.” I constantly remind myself of these rules, in an attempt to make friends, to be uncontroversial, to try to hide my blackness. But when I saw that video of George, crying for his mother, pleading for his life, I could be silent no more. Fears for my Black friends, parents, family, and myself flooded through my head. Will I be next? No, because ENOUGH IS ENOUGH.

I immediately took to social media, which I don’t often do, voicing my opinion, spreading information, and making my voice heard. I took to the streets of Atlanta with my dad, my protest partner, to put pressure on our local government. It is so necessary to be consistent with these marches, to inconvenience the country, to make them listen. We’ve done this before countless times but at this moment, with nationwide persistence and devotion, we can get real change. I believe that Black Lives Matter, that a revolution is coming, and, as a part of Generation Z, it is my responsibility to see it through.

We have to educate ourselves and each other on all issues of social injustice, which is why my friend and I started “When We Are Equal,” a social media page and club that focuses on educating our peers. We both attend a mostly-white private school and some of our classmates simply don’t understand because they were never taught. They don’t know why they can’t say the “n-word” or refer to each other as sexual slurs. We’ve taken it upon ourselves to inform and teach our peers because we simply must. There is no way to make real change unless we educate our fellow Americans.

Reprinted with permission from The Savannah Tribune - “Georgia’s Best Weekly.”