By Alex Witrago, Editorial Intern
In the midst of COVID-19, Carson marched in support of the Black Lives Matter movement and justice for George Floyd on June 6.
“It is not just our community; it’s not just California but people around the world seeing everyone in the world stand next to us to fight for rights we deserve,” said Ryan Warn, a 39-year-old man, who identified himself as a black-Filipino. “It’s beautiful.”
Dr. Adaina Brown, the community of schools administrator, expressed her support for the movement.
“I want to say I struggle for the past two weeks in finding the right words to express the right words on how I feel as a mother of four black sons and a wife and an educator,” Brown said. “I felt a marriott of emotions from anger, to fear, to hatred, to sadness, to rage, to helplessness, and then I was proud.”
Councilman Juwane Hilton led the demonstration.
“I want to get people together in a healthy environment to show their support towards the movement,” Hilton said.
Hilton stood shoulder to shoulder with local law enforcement, elected city leaders and faith leaders to demand change for a safer African American community.
“There are two silent plagues in our nation,” said councilman and former Mayor Jim Dear. “Coronavirus is invisible, but hatred and racism is more deadly because it destroys our spirit as a nation and you are here today because you care about America, you care about our children’s future and you are here because you believe you are doing God’s work.”
Dear explained that the city council is working together with the leadership of Hilton to continue the change that is needed now.
“We cannot wait for another brother or sister to die at the hands of people who wear a badge or a uniform and think they’re God,” Dear said. “It affects every one of us individually. The damage to George Floyd was a damage to us and the damage to him was a damage to America.”
Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department Capt. Jason Skeen stood shoulder-to-shoulder with the community to show his support on behalf of the Carson law enforcement. Hilton expressed that police aren’t bad people and that the community has to change the narrative.
“The deputies of this station support your right to do what you are doing and we are here to protect you,” Skeen said. “We get it. We understand that this is about a lot of other insignificant changes not just about police. On a local level we recognize that we can do our job better and we strive for that. This community has come a long way in the last three decades and I’ve been proud to watch where it’s at now.”
Hilton invited City Clerk Donesia Gause-Aldana. She walked up with her son Mason to express her concern for her son’s future and her plan to change the community.
“Growing up as a little girl all I ever wanted was a son, but now I have my son and I am teaching him lessons on how to behave when he is in public now, because I’m nervous for his life,” Gause-Aldana said. “We can’t keep moving like this people, but do you know what we got to do? We have to hold our legislators accountable. How do we do that? Election day.”
Gause-Aldana’s plan is to improve the access to voting in Carson. She wants everyone who is registered to vote to vote on Nov. 3, so that they can elect legislators that can help implement the change the community needs.
Part of the change that the city council wants to make is the city schools. Hilton explained that the schools in Carson are not educating the youth correctly and the city council calls to reform the schools.
Brown supported Hilton and wanted to let people who were gathered in front of the city hall to know that change is coming, and nothing would be able to stop it. Brown expresses the importance of educating the youth.
“These conversations have to happen not to evoke hatred, but to create power,” Brown said. “Knowledge is power to know, to stay woke.”