Voices from this year's Black Lives Matter protests

This summer, millions attended protests to voice support for Black Lives Matter in over 2,000 cities across the U.S. and over 60 countries around the world, according to Wikipedia.

The Black Lives Matter movement began in 2013 in response to the death of Trayvon Martin. The movement never stopped, but it gained new momentum after the police killing of George Floyd in May 2020.

This summer’s protests were also chaotic. Some police officers have responded to the protests with force — used both against peaceful protesters, and against those in the crowds who smashed shop windows and looted stores.

“My experience with protests have been terrible, to say the least,” said Kori Skillman, who has attended numerous protests this year. “I remember the first protest I went to I was in the middle of the street away from other protesters and all of a sudden this cop starts like running at me screaming…and then all of a sudden I get yanked back by another cop by my hair.”

Although protesters get arrested, tear gassed and hit with rubber bullets by the police, it does not stop some people from organizing protests.

Alexandria Brown, a San Diego Unity Protest coordinator, said her passion made her want to start organizing protests as an outlet to connect people to the news.

“I think just having the passion to do it, the resources and the platform and just being that gateway for people who necessarily don’t feel comfortable protesting,” said Brown.

The protests Brown organizes are peaceful. She says her organization makes sure to take safety precautions by knowing what to expect in the area such as rubber bullets.

Some lawmakers have tried to advance police reforms in response to this summer’s protest.

In June 2020, the House of Representatives, controlled by Democrats, passed the George Floyd Justice and Policing Act. This legislation is intended to hold police accountable, change the culture of law enforcement, empower our communities, and build trust between law enforcement and our communities by addressing systemic racism and bias to help save lives, as stated on Congresswoman Karen Bass’ website.

The Republican-led Senate has not taken up the House’s proposal. Democrats in the Senate blocked a GOP-backed police reform bill.

Although changes are being made, protesters want to defund the police. Defunding the police, will reallocate funding away from the police department to other government agencies funded by the local municipality. Protestor Taya Lee believes there has not been enough change systematically.

“It has been interesting to see different companies and different people step up but there is still a lot more work to be done at a macro economic-systemic level,” said Lee. “So I hope we continue to grow towards that.”

Brown and Lee urge the public to head to the polls and vote this upcoming election, not only for the presidential election but also in local races.

Election day will be on Tuesday, Nov. 3.

This show was reported by the following team: