Thousands of people gathered at Huston-Tillotson University on Sunday, June 7, for a rally against police brutality and racial injustice. They chanted, listened to speeches, and marched to the Texas Capitol. We spoke to some of the protesters individually to ask what kind of change they were hoping for.
Ishia Lynette, pictured above, said “I know that change won’t come quickly but I’m hoping people will see that this is not just a black thing, that it’s a human thing. Everybody can see the injustices going on. And I hope people recognize that we do need to change the system from the inside out.”
Raven Adan, who came with her 17-month-old boy in a stroller: “I’m hoping for some stronger things around police brutality. I’m hoping they take some stronger stances of police using excessive force. I think that sometimes police use force out of fear. Their lives are in danger. I’m just hoping that they start to get a little harsher punishment when they use excessive force. I know that in Minneapolis they just changed it so that they can’t use a chokehold any more. So I’m hoping that that becomes nationwide.”
Jacob Grant: “I’m just trying to contribute my personal part to helping out, for the generations before me who had to suffer worse than I do and the generations after me who hopefully won’t have to suffer due to our efforts here and our efforts over the next however long it takes. I’m very optimistic that this is going to finally make things change. In my opinion we can never totally get rid police brutality. In what profession are there not bad people at that profession? But I believe that our voices will reach those who are higher in power who maybe will decide to make changes in our police departments, in our government, and hopefully bring it to a much lower number of policemen who abuse their power.”
Annalees, a college student (right), came out with her roommates to hand out waters and snacks: “We don’t have a lot of funds but we brought what we could. We just want to help. This is my first protest. I hope that we’ll get more recognition and that there will be actual change that’s concrete with policy changes.”
Kristina Reines (left): “It’s not just about showing up once at this protest, it’s got to be a continual thing and systemic changes. So we can symbolically show up here together but it’s going to take a lot more than that… I think that funds need to be reallocated away from APD and towards housing and medical care.”
Emma Preston (right): “I think when we look at where the money is going to the police, is it going for training on mental health, is it going to training on intervening with people who maybe are in an acute crisis? What are other options than just engaging in a violent or intense way? So if we are going to give funds to the police I want to see those funds being used to be more multi-dimensional in how we’re engaging.”
Austin Mayor Steve Adler: “I’m out here to be part of this movement but here specifically today to listen. I’m hoping for real transformative change. I’m hoping for a change in how we do policing in this city. I think this is the time to actually realize a lot of the things that people have been working on a long time.” Asked why he had come out to the Austin Justice Coalition protest rather than any of the earlier ones, Adler said, “Because this was one that was black centered. I wanted to come to one where I could participate by listening. Talking about race is a really difficult conversation and people like me ought to spend more time listening to those that are from communities of color.”
Victoria: “This is the first protest I’ve attended here in Austin. I’m hoping there’s equality that comes out of this, I’m hoping there’s justice that comes out of this, and I’m hoping that this is not just a ‘right now’ type of thing but it continues into the next decades. We’ve been doing this for a long time and I’m hoping that it can stop with our generation. This moment is different than before because now everybody is joining together versus just the black people joining together.”
Michaela Spenrath (left): “I’m out here and marching because I’m a biracial woman and I love a black man and I’m tired of worrying about him when he leaves the house. I’m tired of worrying about myself and if I’m speeding and get pulled over is that the end of my life? All of us are just tired of living under this system of oppression and we’re ready for change… The master of our police force should be justice. It shouldn’t be racism, it shouldn’t be discrimination. It should be Lady Justice and protection of all American citizens equally.”
“I’m a teacher, I teach black children, I teach children of all colors. And I want this world to be better for them. they’re our future. I came out with my family. This is our second one, we came out last weekend, we were on I-35, but we didn’t have our daughter with us last time. We didn’t have our daughter with us last time, we brought her because we think it’s really important, she needs to know what’s going on.”
Lees B., left, said her sign was meant to be slightly humorous.“I’m hopeful,” she said. Asked about incidents of violence, she said, “I do see that, but I see more positivity and more people to make a change. So I’m optimistic that we’re definitely going to see change.”
Leah, right, said she was optimistic that the protests sparked by George Floyd’s death would bring lasting change. “I’m more optimistic that this time is different. There have been protests in all 50 states, and how many countries? It’s been a lot of people. A lot of people are tired of this. And it’s beautiful, I love seeing everybody out here with us.”
