Kendra cooper(left), Amanda Harvey(center), Krista Marsh(right) lead a protest through the streets of Swedesboro, New Jersey in a effort to peacefully protest
Emmanuel Young
April.google 16
Christa Marsh, Kendra Cooper, and Amanda Harvey, 21, held a peaceful solidarity march in Swedesboro, NJ on June 6 to protest injustice after the death of George Floyd.
Floyd, a 46-year-old black man, was killed in Minneapolis, Minnesota May 25, 2020, during an arrest for allegedly having counterfeit bills.
Black Lives Matter protests began to spark across America and were responded to by white supremacist groups, police, and the national guard.
Christa, Kendra, and Amanda decided to protest peacefully to show the different side of protesting than the media showed.
With the help of the town officials, they could hold a peaceful protest and march in the local park. Volunteers came out from their high school class to help by setting up tents for drinks and food for anyone marching.
Volunteers created signs for protestors saying quotes such as “The world is watching, Truth is the side of the oppressed, and black isn’t a crime.”
friends of the organizers' help create signs for the protests
Masked was donated to the groups for anyone that did not have one, and police escorted the marchers through town to ensure a peaceful march—using their social media platforms to spread the news of it and the help of student journalists covering the event.
Christa Marsh, one of three organizers of the event talks about the process of putting it together
“We stared a petition to gather some support from our local community members, town officials, and police department and got a meeting with them. They gave us 100% support.”
Chris Barbra, a friend of the three organizers and former high school class president, commented on their work and the importance of coming out and using their voices and media accounts.
“I felt it was my job to step up and influence people from my age group to come out and show our support. I knew since she worked as the secretary for my term in the class office. It was great to see Kendra and the others continue that path of community organization.”
As the protest went on its way, local officials expressed their support.
Student Journalist Cameron Martin (right) interviewing Vincent Marion (middle), Mayor of Swedesboro-Woolwich.
“As you hear the chants, every life matters especially black lives, and for too many years, it's been systemic, and I think they were standing rightly showing the community what were about.,”
Hundreds of people came out to support the march despite COVID-19, carrying signs to show the peaceful side of the protesting instead of the looting and riots shown on Tv. It showed the importance of receiving information on both sides.
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