Black Lives Matter protests rally in Covington
When the Black Lives Matter movement started to resurrect during the summer, one place that offered protestors a place to stand up for the rights of others was Downtown Covington.
Many young protestors gathered on four corners of an intersection in Covington to protest the injustices of police brutality brought onto black Americans. From 5 p.m. to typically 9 or 10, teens and young adults would stand on the intersection of North Columbia Street and East Boston Street holding signs that speak out against injustice and call on for reformation of the police system.
While holding these signs, the activists would ask others to repeat the names of two black Americans that sat at the centerfold of the BLM resurrection.
The names of Breonna Taylor and George Floyd could be heard for hours on end while these young protestors rallied together to show that they want to stand up against systemic racist injustices.
“Being part of the movement feels very rewarding and very stressful. The obvious reward is being one of the thousands of people who have been standing behind the black community to help give them a voice” Alyson Rogers, a BLM activist in the area, commented when asked how she felt about being a part of the Black Lives Matter movement.
These protestors typically found out about the event through posts online or a friend who was planning to attend.
“I heard about the Covington protests through someone I know through dance. She shared the information on Snapchat and so that’s how I first learned about the local protests” said Mina Perkins, another Covington activist, about how she first heard about the protests in the Covington area.
While these protests occurring in Covington may come as a surprise to some, it is all thanks to the young citizens of the area to bring awareness to the wrongdoings of the police system.
Many areas in Louisiana have a reputation of being more prejudiced than others and Covington is definitely one of those cities. The city does contain old money and privilege, which can sometimes make protesting a bit difficult.
The protests were always rooted in peace, but the actions of others who would find the protests to either be unnecessary or weird would cause tension to rise within activists.
While there would be the occasional rude yell from a passing car or an unwarranted hand motion, the protestors remained peaceful and continued to keep their spirits up amongst themselves.
During Pride Month in June, there was another rally on the 26th called Pride for Black Lives Matter.
Once again young activists gathered around and decided to not only hold signs but to also allow people in the community to tell their stories, experiences and hopes for the future.
A young woman that spoke at this rally was Alex Ragas, who shared her struggles and experiences being a woman of color in St. Tammany Parish.
She has experienced the downsides of being a person of color within a community that may show some resistance to movements such as Black Lives Matter.
“Unfortunately, living in Louisiana has its political downsides as many people here do not agree and/or detest the movement. In fact, there are many people here who deny that racism and oppression still exist” Ragas said when thinking about bringing awareness to those in the area.
Through young activists’ actions such as Rogers, Perkins and Ragas people within the St. Tammany Parish area as well as all around the state can be more aware of the systemic racism that still exists today.
