As protests continue to take place throughout Indianapolis in response to the death of George Floyd, a younger — much younger — generation also is marching.
Over the weekend in Indianapolis, children — ranging from toddlers to teenagers — walked with their parents, participating in the demonstrations by carrying signs and following along in chants.
Terry Clayton, 19, participated in a demonstration at Monument Circle on May 29. After event organizer Lamari Edwards, 20, handed him her megaphone, Clayton read a poem describing the Black experience in America. In it, he described police brutality and judgment, and ended the poem by lying face down on the bricks surrounding the Circle with his hands behind his back, as other demonstrators chanted “It’s not a crime to be Black.”
“It makes me feel scared when I come out of my house,” Clayton said in an interview. “I have to worry if I’m safe in my own car, in my own neighborhood … I might not even be safe in my own home,” he added, seemingly referencing Breonna Taylor, 26, who was killed by police in her Louisville home after officers raided the wrong house.
Cornelia Anderson, along with her teenage children Mya and Darius, also attended the same demonstration.
“We’ve lost a lot of Black men,” Anderson said, “and we have to do something about it.”
As Anderson spoke, Mya, 15, nodded in agreement.
“I’m here to show my support and show I care, too,” Mya said. “I know it’s not right, and it’s not fair. You don’t see white people being shot like that.”
During one protest organizers urged demonstrators to remain peaceful to protect the children in the crowd after water was thrown on an officer and Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department (IMPD) officers responded by using pepper spray.
“There’s a little boy here tonight,” Edwards said, gesturing toward a boy of about 5 years old. The police wouldn’t hesitate to hurt him, she said.
Quan Addison, a father of five, said he and his wife are often afraid for their sons. He and one of his toddler son arrived at Monument Circle about 15 minutes after pepper spray was deployed.
“You have to start them young,” one protester told Addison as he walked closer to the Soldiers and Sailors Monument, nodding toward the boy.
The children and young adults involved in the protests were scared. Not about being at the demonstrations, but about the all too common viral videos of Black men killed by police.
“It hurts my heart,” Edwards said. “They could be my brother or my friend. … It makes me sick to my stomach.”
Darryl Lockett, executive director of the Kennedy King Memorial Initiative, said while viral videos are common today, he never wants to get desensitized.
“It is no question traumatic,” Lockett said. “But it’s something that I want to maintain a sense of shock and awe. I don’t want to become numb, because at that point, we become well adjusted to injustice, and we lose that spirit that’s needed to fight against the forces that exist in society … and to resist that which is creating that pain and that frustration.”
A teacher in the crowd, who wanted to only be identified as Ms. Felix, said she teaches sixth grade and sees firsthand the effects police brutality have on her students.
“They’re scared,” she said. “We have conversations about police brutality, and things they hear in the news makes it hard for them to focus in school, because they’re afraid of what is going to happen to them when they leave the school.”
Felix said difficulties in academics creates a cyclical process that can lead to young Black men being victimized by police.
“We’re messing up the next generation, and we need to fix it,” Felix said.
Contact staff writer Breanna Cooper at 317-762-7848. Follow her on Twitter @BreannaNCooper.
Cornelia Anderson and her children Maya and Darius. (Photo/Breanna Cooper)
