Lifting each other up: You can’t stop the revolution

Note: I invited Matthew Armstead who went to Ferguson during Ferguson October to write a guest piece about his experience. He thought it would be great if we invited someone from the community to write about their experience and introduced me to Diamond Latchison, a young woman who has been involved since the early days of the protests. Here Diamond writes about how she got involved and her determination to stay in the struggle until change comes. - Lucy

I remember a month before Michael Brown was shot down and killed and the movement in Ferguson became what it is, I had a talk with my father about leaders and our generational gap. He talked to me about the Black Power movement and the Civil Rights movement and all about how his generation wasn’t afraid to stand up for what they believed in. They weren’t afraid to be proud of their blackness.

But my generation, he said, didn’t take pride in anything besides the rappers and singers we listen to and the reality TV shows we watch. His thoughts were that my generation wasn’t willing to fight for anything, no matter what it was. Now, my father and I have had these talks before but never to this level. Whenever we would talk about situations involving my generation and how ‘immobilized’ we were when it comes to social issues, I would agree with him because I thought the same. Generation X is what we are called and I believed it.

My father and I were listening to the radio and although I don’t really remember specifically the subject of the radio show, I know it entailed leaders and movements. So, as we were listening to this conversation my dad asked me this, “If something major were to happen in St. Louis that should cause the young people to come out, would they?” I thought about it and wanted to give my generation the benefit of the doubt so instead of saying, “No” like I usually did, I said that I had no idea honestly. I said that it would have to be something very impactful for young people to move. He also asked me if I saw any leaders within my generation? Once again I told my father, “I have no idea.”

The Garner Protest and Ferguson Protest converge in downtown Seattle (Photo taken by Scott Lum)

Little did we know that we would both be proven wrong come August 9th. As soon as Michael Brown’s body laid on the ground, in the simmering heat, for 4 ½ hours, young people were out and revolting! I wasn’t out the first four days because of my parents would not allow me to go out, but seeing the outcry explode on social media just amazed me!

Seeing my generation stand up to the police and then get tear gassed, hit with rubber bullets, and all types of brutality just truly blew my mind because this was all happening in 2014!

Ferguson looked like something you would see in history books about the March on Selma or the Civil Rights movement in general. I joined the protests after 5 days. Once I started seeing firsthand what the people were doing and what the police were doing, I never left. I never thought that a moment would get so big that it would turn into a movement. 100+ days in and this has been a young people’s movement. The same young people that the older generation said weren’t about anything.

March in Las Vegas, NV in support of justice for Eric Garner and Mike Brown and the Black Lives Matter social movement (Photo by Beverly Yuen Thompson)In the words of Tef Poe, local activist and rapper, “This ain’t your granddaddies Civil Rights movement.” And it really isn’t. Everything that we as protestors (or revolutionaries we like to call ourselves) have done didn’t really click until Ferguson October. Now with the no indictments of the officers that killed both Michael Brown and Eric Garner back-to-back within a week we are mobilized. The reoccurring murders of black people such as Kaijeme Powell, Vonderitt Myers, John Crawford, Tamir Rice, Akai Gurley, Shanetel Davis, and Rekia Boyd pushes us forward to make change.

People started to pour into Ferguson and Shaw to show their support and solidarity. Now the protests are in places like New York, California, Massachusetts, and Maryland to Egypt and India! That’s when it all became real to me. Early in the struggle people all the way from Palestine and Iraq showing their solidarity to Ferguson and gave us tips on how to treat tear gas and get the proper gas masks to use.

Hong Kong is going through their own movement and showing solidarity… it all is too real. SeeingMillions march in Oakland (Photo by Daniel Arauz) everybody from around the world in support of the movement is unbelievable. The worldwide protests were ignited [LD1] in Ferguson and wouldn’t have started if it weren’t for people on the ground that first day on August 9th exercising the first amendment rights. It wasn’t perfect, but we did it and soon we got better organized and laid more ground work for what is being done today. We started something much bigger than a movement. We started a revolution.

The world is finally waking up and revolting. What’s going on right now it much bigger than Ferguson. When people as far away as Palestine and Egypt are showing solidarity and linking to their own experiences of oppression and police brutality, this cause becomes global.

In Ferguson, we were seen as a crazy, rambunctious group of individuals. People told us that this movement wouldn’t last for two weeks, a month tops. We’re 4 months in and a new year is coming upon us in a few weeks. We’re just getting started and I’m so inspired by everything and everyone. To Black Lives Matter who started the #BlackLivesMatter movement to my beautiful people on the grounds of Ferguson many of whom have given up everything for this movement. I’ve yet to hear any regrets, any complaints. This movement is full of young people I say once again. We could be doing anything that ‘normal’ young people do or what we used to do before all of this, but we’re choosing to still be a part of this.

Chicago to Ferguson (Photo by Sarah-Ji)Most of us haven’t done any activism work but we’re doing it. That to me is so beautiful and inspiring. The youngest involved is a 16 years old boy! THAT is beautiful and inspires me to continuously be a part of this movement.

Queer people of color (QPOC) who’ve come out in solidarity of Trans-women of color who’ve been murdered or brutally beaten by police for being who they are are inspiring to me. The women in this movement… My God! Taking the frontlines and holding them down! Unmovable when men tell them to move and get in the back. Resilient in standing alongside our brothers; fighting for them, our young girls and young boys, our children, our unborn children, and even ourselves.

With no fear and pure strength, I’m in awe and am continuously inspired to be amongst so many beautiful shades of black and brown women. The men in this movement with their strength, love, and care for their fellow brothers and sisters out on the grounds, beautiful and inspiring. These beautiful babies that come out and protest with their parents, chanting and witnessing history, is beautiful and inspiring. All of this we do for them. For their future. The beauty of my people lifting each other up has been so beautiful and inspiring.

March in Las Vegas, NV in support of justice for Eric Garner and Mike Brown and the Black Lives Matter social movement (Photo by Beverly Yuen Thompson)I have so much hope for the future of this movement, for the future of my people. We have a lot of work to do and we’re ready.

“It is our duty to fight for our freedom. It is our duty to win. We must love and support each other. We have nothing to lose but our chains.” As Assata Shakur is in hiding from the FBI, her works and her quote ring true to the people in this movement.

We have a duty to fight this oppressive system that was not meant for us, change it, and turn it into a system that is more suitable for us. We have a duty to fight for our children so that when they grow up they won’t have to fight in the same struggles as we are fighting and as our parents and ancestors have fought before us. We believe that we will win. We WILL win because it is OUR duty to win! It may get tough and hard but if we don’t fight for us, who will? We have a ways to go to black liberation, but together all things are possible. You can’t stop the revolution!