Photo by Jay Paul
About 200 people, including this group of young activists, gathered at the Maggie L. Walker statue on June 13 to attend a youth rally organized by Stephanie Younger, 18, and Makayla White, 13. The two put together the event “to give young people a platform to express their stance on the current events that are going on,” Younger says. “These issues [of police brutality and the school-to-prison pipeline] disproportionately affect black youth, and we need to be included in the conversation.”
Younger spoke at the rally, which featured about 14 other youth speakers and performers.
A rising sophomore at Reynolds Community College, Younger has been involved in activism since 2016, after seeing news coverage of police brutality against unarmed black men.
“What has happened over the past few weeks proves that organizing truly works,” she says. “Breonna Taylor’s law was passed, Minneapolis schools have ended their contract with the Minneapolis Police Department,” and in Richmond officials have said they will take down Monument Avenue’s Confederate statues.
“[The rally] gave me hope that there are people in Richmond who are willing to listen to young people,” she says, “and that is what justice starts with.”
See more photos taken around Richmond at instagram.com/richmondmag.
