Using the hashtag #YouthSpeakUp, hundreds of parents and their children gathered in the District Saturday for a discussion and a walk from Freedom Plaza on Pennsylvania Avenue to Black Lives Matter Plaza near Lafayette Square. The event was headed by Dionne Johnson Calhoun, who said she didn’t think the voices of children and young people were being amplified as much as they could have been during the last two weeks of national protests after George Floyd was killed by Minneapolis police on May 25. Parents from around the area, of all races, brought their children to the event. “We have one demographic whose voices haven’t been heard on this issue,” Johnson Calhoun said. “I really want the youth to speak up on issues like race and equality.” Some of the kids who spoke appeared timid, just for a moment, while addressing the crowd, but soon gained confidence.
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“Mr. Floyd is known around the world for how he died,” said fifth-grader Messiah David. “You will remember this generation for how we lived.” Another child who spoke was Autumn Johnson, also a fifth-grader. “I think Black Lives Matter,” she said. “We need to stand up for what’s right and if we keep protesting, I think we will stop a lot of things like racism and police brutality. Maybe we will teach a lot of people to respect black people and other kinds of people, and maybe racism will be over.” While those who spoke were came mostly from nearby, some who attended the event were not. “It’s such an important time in our history,” said Steve Walker of Columbus, Ohio. He came with his wife, Nikki Heard-Walker, and their two kids, Campbell and Hugo. Campbell had made her own sign for the demonstration. “I think they get it,” said Heard-Walker. “She made this sign that says ‘Black Lives Matter’ and then she added ‘protect and care.’ Those are her words. So, I feel like they get it.” Also among the marchers was Crystal Wilhoite of Arlington, Virginia, who marched next to her 5-year-old son Jaden. “I wanted him to understand what it means to be a black male here in America,” said Wilhoite. “I’m sure he’s understanding a little bit, but it’s bigger. It’s way bigger than what you can put into words.” The group walked up 15th Street and ended at Black Lives Matter Plaza just a few blocks away.
