BLM Protesters photographed in New York City, June 2020
Itea Davis: "The change I want to see in the future is more black rights. Just being able to walk down the street without being antagonized by the police. Just living in general, feeling comfortable in my skin. When I stepped out of my house, that's what I want in the world and not be seen as a black woman. I never had police brutality done to me. I've seen it, but when I went to school in Cobleskill, I've got the whole run down of being attacked by a redneck, got called the black bitch and I've seen confederate flags and it shouldn't have to be like that."
Noah Shaw: "We need to change the police in America. That's where it all starts, from the government to the police. That's the most basic thing we can change."
Bob Nash: "My activity starts around 1967, I was in Washington DC, when president Johnson used tear gas on us, anti-Vietnam. I was with Occupy Wall Street from day one. I made Woodstock a free festival in 1969. I gave a speech in front of 10,000 people, we ripped the fences down. I'm a freelance troublemaker, I call myself. These demonstrations now that are going on, they will try to appease us at first, but then once we don't stop, they're going to use brutal force–that's what the police department is about. The police department started in the 1700. They were a slave patrol when people ran away from their slave masters down south, there was a bounty on them and they came up here North and the police department would grab them and send them back and they would get a bounty on it. We need a peace force, not a police force. In order to know history, you must know black history, 15,000 years ago, there wasn't a white person on the planet. So when I’m asked where I'm from, I say Africa, we're all from Africa. My grandmother is black. And so is your grandmother black. And her name is Lucy. She's a three million year old fossil shell. We're all connected."
Jill Feyer: "We're protesting for the lives of our fellow American citizens, while our government is using the police that we pay for against us as a weapon. They have now in New York City instituted a curfew for Americans, so that they can weaponize the police against us on our streets. Yesterday we saw an APC, an armored personnel carrier, which is a military grade equipment for a break and enter. What is happening? This is America. It is time to break down the system and rebuild it because the social contract is broken and this system is not working. We live in a failed state."
Roshard Henderson: "Fuck you Trump. You started this shit, but guess what? We will finish it."
Adam Andrew Rios: "What I look forward to is a big, bright future where everybody is equal and everybody can get along."
Ashley Mitchell: "I would like to see equality and I want to feel equality and voice equality, and I want to feel like I belong here in America, not like a second class citizen."
Talia Fleischman: "I march because black lives matter."
Kevin Canavan: "Social injustices have been ingrained into the fabric of the society in this country. Since before we were this country, since the first day we set foot on this land. Enough is enough, this isn't a virus or a disease or something with a herd immunity or there's no vaccine that can cure this. This is just something that we all need to stand up and shout that it's not acceptable because if we allow it to continue, then it will continue."
Izaiah Royster: "I have a whole concept called breaking the cycle, it basically means that the cops kill people unjustly, the result is a death than we riot and then nothing happens after. It's just a continuous vicious cycle. So I feel like if we can all band together and try to figure out solutions to break that cycle, then we can move forward and be progressive."
Dean: "I’m doing this for my niece and my godchildren. I want them to grow up in a world where they won't feel like they can't do anything because of the color of their skin and where they're from. Son of an immigrant, I embrace this place, but it has to change for the better."
Jasmin Mataba: "When I'm out here, I'm thinking about my future children, because I want to make sure that they never have to fight for their lives while they're out, going to school, going to work, never having to worry about the people who are supposed to protect them, basically murdering them. It doesn't make sense. It just needs to stop."