I want to start off by saying that as a white person, “I understand that I will never understand, but I stand with you.” This has been one of the most powerful quotes for me during this time. I acknowledge my white privilege and I can use it to speak up and stand up against this pandemic of racism.

On Tuesday June 2nd, I attended the Youth for Equity protest through Fairfield with hundreds of my fellow students from all over Connecticut. It was great to see so many youth and it was so cool that this protest was pioneered by a student at FLHS.

Marching down the Post Road with hundreds of people, you could feel the anger and frustration of centuries of systematic racism but, you also felt so empowered because we are so ready for change. Seeing my peers show up and stand up against racism makes me hopeful that my generation can be the ones to build a world without racism. 

As a club leader of Youth For Equity at FLHS, we strive for change and we focus on having a growth mindset. Our goal is to educate and uplift others, embrace differences, and find lessons and inspiration in the success of others.  

As a white person I can only speak to my fellow white people so I will leave you with this. Do not be silent. White silence is white violence. As the Reverend Vanessa Payne Rose from First Church Congregational in Fairfield, CT, notes, “Each day find an action that will bring transformation and healing, justice, and eventually, hopefully in the not too distant future, peace.”

There is so much work to be done and so much change to come.

To learn more, please visit the Youth for Equity Club website: https://sites.google.com/view/youth-for-equity.