By Thomas Wong
Staff Writer
Beneath the summer sun, the rhythmic chanting of Black Lives Matter protesters drowned out the usual L.A. noise. Their demands for racial equality and justice filled the air like a song, emanating from every street and alleyway. Joining in this proud chorus was senior activist Jeremy Alvarado, forcing his weary feet down the city streets.
“It was crazy how everyone came together to fight for the same thing,” Alvarado said. “It felt nice knowing that everyone there wanted change and reform.”
In a summer marked by countless cases of brutality and injustice, 15 to 25 million Americans attended protests.
“I believe there have been small steps taken, but we still have a long way to go,” Alvarado said. “We have murderers and racists as cops and that scares me. We can’t have cops that don’t know what to do in certain situations. We can’t have police that overreact or ignore citizens when they’re supposed to ‘protect’ us. We need to make sure those that have killed people of color with no right of doing so are held accountable.”
Activist Melina Abdullah, cofounder of the BLM movement in L.A., and videos of protesters inspired Alvarado to attend four peaceful protests over the summer with his family and friends. He also followed in her footsteps by signing petitions and spreading other people’s stories of injustice.
Alvarado is one of many people who believe in the BLM message. He also supports the idea that All Cops Are Bastards.
“I stand for ACAB because I believe that the police needs to be reformed and racist cops need to be fired,” Alvarado said. “When people say ACAB, it means they don’t support the police and what they do. I’m sure there are some good cops that stand with us.”
Alvarado plans to do all he can to spread this message by starting petitions, giving a voice to those who have experienced oppression and persisting in his fight for justice.
“I strongly believe that there needs to be change in this country in how we treat people of color,” Alvarado said. “Although protesting made an impact, there are still cops that need to be arrested and people that need justice. I will always be going to more protests because knowing what I’m fighting for is right and the protests I’m attending will be in the history books down the line.”