Photo by Philip Pacheco/AFP/Getty Images.
The nationwide protests sparked by the killing of George Floyd have started a firestorm of activism. Crowds of people have taken to streets to support Black Lives Matter, many of whom are non-black.
“Seeing all those people there and knowing that people still care about what’s going on right now in this country. It’s nice to be reassured, you can look at the person next to you and know they’re just as passionate as you,” 21-year-old Ajani Torres of Oakland, CA, said about joining the protests. “I think our generation is just tired of what’s been going on that we have a lot of passion about it—and we’re so young, we have the energy to say ‘it can’t be like this forever.'”
YR Media and Latino USA bring you a discussion with four young adults from all racial backgrounds to discuss what it means to be an effective ally in the fight to end anti-Blackness, the role young people are playing in this new wave of activism, and the importance of “unlearning” long-held perspectives rooted in our communities.
This story was produced by Denise Tejada.
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NPR’s Latino USA with Maria Hinojosa, produced by Futuro Media, is the longest-running Latino-focused program on U.S. public media.
