Items

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  2020-07-15

  Coney Island Police Brutality Protest

  For my primary source, I selected a photograph that my cousin from coney island sent me to join her to protest. The protest was on July 15, 2021, from 1 pm to 5 pm. The march’s purpose was in the memory of the African Americans that were murder by police brutality. The protest was a peaceful demonstration where the community complained that the problem is getting bigger every day. Therefore, the government needed to corporate to diminish the violence and racism toward black people. The march has two purposes the first one to protest that black lives matter and that it was not okay to kill somebody because of their skin color, and it was also to complain about police use of force towards minorities. 2020 was a year where many innocent people were killed, for example, Rashard brooks, Daniel Prude, George Floyd, and Breonna Taylor. Those victims were not just killed by the police but were killed being innocent and doing ordinary people stuff which makes us think that the problem comes from police racism. I wanted to assist in the protest, but my father said straight up no because of covid 19 pandemic was at its worse moment, and the crowding is was going to be an easy way to catch the virus. I kept insisting until I got permission to go. I took three trains to get to my cousin’s house. First, I took train A to Columbus circle, then train D to the new york aquarium, and last train Q to ocean parkway where my cousin was waiting for me, and we went to the protest. It was not a big protest because most people who assist were people from the area, but it was peaceful. They were all screaming, “not justice, no peace.” the environment did no felt uncomfortable because they were energetic and getting the anger out by marching for the victims. The police of coney island and Brighton beach were present, ensuring that people maintain order and supporting the march. The social distancing was followed, and all the participants were wearing a mask. I felt good because I did not participate in the protest in my area, but I was present in other parts of the state. I selected this source because I want historians of the future to analyze that the country was active and acting against the problem. Racism is a global problem. It can be controlled if we unify and try to make others conscious that it is not okay to judge somebody else because of the way they look or their nationality. The communities were getting together to announce that they needed our support to solve the problem and eliminate conflicts with people equal like us but with a tiny skin color difference. Racism is so intense that people need to go outside in the middle of a pandemic to protest and moderate the issue. We were exposed to the virus because the violence toward minorities is increasing in the country. It looks like the only way it can be moderate is by going outside to show the dominant group that we have a voice.
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  2020-05-30

  Civil Discourse During A Pandemic

  I assume like many New Yorkers, March 13th through 18th was when things really changed. It did for me on the 15th of March 2020 or the ides of March as I like to remember it. My store shut down for what seemed like 2 weeks. Of course, soon I would be given the news we would be shut down completely. I already knew where things were going, at the time I worked at an Asian restaurant, so I was hearing many of the conversations about China then. But I could not have predicted what would happen next. As slow and dreadful as 2020 was, things were moving at lightning speed for the situation we experienced. It felt like every few days something new would arise and test our nation. I selected these pictures because it shows how tired everyone is, the blank faces of people who are following orders, while the other side expresses their hardships all the while wearing masks, the bane of 2020. I want the historian of the future to know that no matter the situation at hand, many of us will still protest for what was wrong even if they got sick. It didn’t matter because we needed to send a message. The two images that you see in the beginning were taken by my friend, Emilio Lopez, who documented the protests, riots, and clashes between police in the summer of 2020. I did not go to the early protests because of covid and the violence/looting wasn’t the things I wanted to be a part of. I remember face-timing my friend to make sure if he was alright as I did not go with him. What he described to me that was happening in the parts of Fordham, and Union Square areas. Emilio had said many of the protesters were young men who were bored of the lockdowns and needed to do something exciting. There were fires, baton exchanges with the cops, and then the looting started. It all got a little too ugly for the whole week of George Floyd protests in New York. One of my close friend’s stores in Fordham was destroyed as a result. The images were taken right before things took a violent turn at Union Square. Where many of my friends were tear-gassed and beaten by cops to disperse when the first lockdown was getting implemented. Those two images, I feel like the body language of the subjects conveys how I felt about the lockdowns, the social injustice, in general about 2020. These were the first few weeks of protests that took place in the wake of George Fyold murder. I was shocked and scared when the masses went on to the streets because of the sheer amount while the pandemic was still going on. I hope the historians of the future can understand us even if they have to go through a cluster of memes from this era, real pictures with real human emotions will always speak louder I believe, and that civil rights in this country still have ways to go.