Items

• 
  2020-06-04

  In Harm's Way: Marching for Justice

  After months of isolation and spending time away from direct contact with large groups, I could not help but feel a sense of anxiety and fear of the repercussions that others and I myself may have to deal with by taking part in this march. There is no escaping the news of this pandemic. News stations, social media, coworkers, friends, and family have provided me with daily reminders about the severity of COVID-19. So why am I, along with thousands of other residents of San Diego, leaving the safety of our homes and breaking the rules of our lockdowns to combat this deadly virus? Unfortunately, we could not unsee what the police had done to George Floyd. There was no erasing those eight minutes and forty-six seconds from our memory. Witnessing this reminded us of Breonna Taylor and the lives of other Black Americans who have lost their lives from mistakes made by the police. Although we were in harm’s way, we felt like this is where we needed to be. We needed to show the world that enough was enough and taking this risk was worth sending a message. With every step, I felt my sense of fear about the COVID-19 began to subside. In its place, a sense of purpose began to take over. After nine miles of marching, I did not feel like an individual dangerously swimming through countless transmissions of the virus. I felt one with the people.