Massive protests have been happening all over America after video footage of George Floyd's death started circulating. George, who was a black father, was in police custody after being accused of a minor crime. He died after a cop by the name of Derek Chauvin put him in a hold that restricted his air supply. Issues like this have been happening for many, many years — this one just happened to be caught on tape.
The world is rightfully outraged and looking for change. And already, change has happened. Many police forces across the country are disbanding — including New York City recently disbanding plainclothed teams. More officers are required to go through training. And the public view of police has been damaged. They're no longer the heroes who protect us. Instead, the general view is that they escalate situations to make them worse. That may be why networks have canceled long-running shows such as Cops.
While not all cops abuse their powers, enough have fit the stereotype for communities to feel unsafe. People are especially hoping to end police brutality toward black people. There've been more than enough cases to reveal that black individuals often get severely punished for minor crimes that a white person would easily get away with. That's one part of white privilege.
Some of the biggest leaders toward change? Teenagers. Teens and young adults have done so much to create a difference in the world. But there's a reason why six young women from Nashville are being called out for their efforts. It's because they, alone, organized an event attended by thousands.
The six young activists are all between the ages of 14 and 16. Altogether, they've created an organization called Teens4Equality. On Instagram, their account already has well over 22,000 followers. According to the Tennessean, the young girls involved are named Jade Fuller, Zee Thomas, Kennedy Green, Nya Collins, Emma Rose Smith, and Mikayla Smith.
Together, they put together the largest protest that the area has ever seen. And they did it peacefully. Those who attended marched miles outside to show that they're ready for change. With every step, they acknowledged all of the black lives that were taken from us too soon.
While George Floyd's incident was one of the most recent, they also chanted for Breonna Taylor, Daniel Hambrick, and Ahmaud Arbery. Breonna was shot while she was asleep, in the comfort of her own home. She was only 26 years old. The officers who shot her are allegedly on administrative reassignment.
In other situations, the person who shot the gun would likely end up in jail for murder. A young girl is now dead for doing nothing wrong, and nobody will take the blame for their alarming and disgusting action. That's why these protests are important. They get the word out and honor all of the lives lost.
Many protests have been peaceful. However, riots have historically brought change before. Back in 2016, Baltimore resident Freddie Gray died in police custody. In response, the citizens of Baltimore protested police brutality. That protest lead to a thorough investigation of the US Justice Department, which did operate with racist and outdated practices.
It's what happens when voices aren't listened to. It makes people finally pay attention. A march happened in Nashville right before the march organized by these young women that reportedly ended up in chaos.
The teens reportedly told their crowd to try their hardest to avoid unnecessary confrontation with any law enforcement officers that came their way. Those distractions simply took away from the overall mission, which is to protest a change for black lives everywhere. "We need to change America," Jade Fuller told the crowd. "I want you guys to just see everyone."
It says a lot when a group of teenagers know how to organize their crowd in such a productive way. Thanks to these girls, there were no incidents. And they were able to get their message across to everyone in their town. They didn't let riot gear stop them from peacefully marching forward.
Even the mayor made a point to give a pat on the back to the young organizers. "Thank you for your commitment to justice and for elevating our city's collective conscience," Mayor John Cooper wrote on Twitter. "I am listening, Nashville, and I am determined to work towards real, lasting change."
The girls of Teens4Equality were rightfully pleased with how things went. They made it clear that this isn't the first event they'd try to organize — and that they had a lot of optimism about what the future held. "Change is coming," they said. "We see it we feel it, we know it. A new revolution is on the way."
These six should be inspiring to everyone. Not only did they vow to take action, but they managed to organize Nashville in an unexpected and healthy way. They wanted to be taken seriously, and they've managed to rack up a large amount of fans in the process.
It's further evidence that we should really listen more to the young leaders in the world. Teens first proved that they could make a big difference in our country after the unfortunate Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School shooting in 2018. After it happened, survivors notably tried to end the issue of gun violence in schools for good.
And people listened. Because not only did these teens experience this devastating event firsthand, but they had smart and educated ways for our country to change. Many teen activists emerged from the incident, and they even head to Washington, DC, to try to make sure that nobody would experience something so horrific again.
Unfortunately, some leaders feel as if teens don't know enough to really make a positive difference. But they know a lot more than we give them credit for. And they also inspire other young people to speak up and make a difference.
We should all be keeping an eye on Teens4Equality and hope that more young organizations pop up soon. These are the groups that are going to ensure that silenced voices are heard. And they're not going to give up just because it might be a hard fight to win. These are our future leaders, and we should give them our full attention.
