Injustice and prejudice is very prevalent in the United States. It's something that black people have had to live with for the past centuries in America. And protests like the Black Lives Matter movement have been going on longer than just modern day.

Ever since the video of George Floyd's murder surfaced a wave of anger and unrest has swept the nation. This includes the protests that are happening in every state in the country as well as other nations around the world. It almost seems like it is the second wave of the Civil rights movement. And many people are trying to be a part of this movement. Whether it means supporting black-owned businesses, posting about and signing petitions, or educating yourself and others around you. One of the many ways to help is protest.

Many want to go out and protest because they feel it is the most effective way of activism, aside from voting. But they feel as though they can't because they think their town is too conservative to have one of those protests, which is what I used to think. Where I live, the community is majority white and conservative so you would think that a Black Lives Matter protest would be very unlikely. But I was wrong.

My friend Katie linked me to a Facebook group that was filled with people planning protests, meetings with local and state government, or even just giving us recommendations on movies and books to help us understand a black person's experience. So I joined and saw that a protest was already being planned May 31st outside of our city's courthouse. Only 26 people had signed up when I did so I wasn't expecting to see many people while I was there.

The day had come and I started driving down to the courthouse. As I turned the corner I could see down the road a large group of people holding signs and chanting. So many more people than I thought there would be. There must have been hundreds of people. And as we marched many people came out of their stores or stopped eating and were clapping, cheering, and celebrating the protest. Something that I could have never imagined.

I feel like the lesson that can be learned is that it doesn't matter the politics of where you are. If you are passionate about something and you can get outside to protest you absolutely have the chance to change minds. Make a WhatsApp chat, a Facebook group, or an advertisement. If you talk about it and you reach out to others you can organize whatever you want no matter the demographics and politics of where you are.

Stay safe out there and make sure that you are learning and educating yourself about this very important issue.