Standing Up for Humanity

By Leslie Contreras and Lois Solorio

In light of I.C.E raids in multiple communities, 17-year-old Jalysa Torres from William C. Overfelt High School  took a stand for her family and community by protesting for the people who are too scared to stand up for themselves.

She wanted people to understand that it's not only the adults that can have a voice but also the youth too. She’s trying to make a stand so that the same mistakes that are happening now don't continue in future generations.

Torres’family lives with constant fear that one day they can be taken away from their homes since they are undocumented. 

Torres: “They're um, they're undocumented and they were telling me how scared they were and like, how like nerve-racking it was because some of them live right across the street and then just seeing how they, the ice was cooperating with Target, like I knew that, I had the voice and I had the power to say something”.

She realized it was time to take a stand when she had been informed that her cousin and other Natives had gotten arrested for protesting and trying to protect their homeland.

Torres: “my cousin got detained for protesting, and we fought really hard about that because, like, he was native to that homeland, so, at that point, it just, like, came to a realization that, like, they're not just taking, um, undocumented people. They're not taking bad people, like they're just taking everybody, you know?”

When a lot of people showed up for both protests Torres was very happy and excited to see how many people were supporting this cause. At first she was nervous since she didn't know if many people were going to show up but when she did she was glad knowing that the youth were able to use their own voices as well.

Torres: “It was good to see like the youth actually standing up, basically, like, to see that they actually care. Like, they're not just like doing this because it's a trend. They're not just doing this because your friends are walking out or like, um, you could get to leave school early. A lot of them were really like determined to like, say something to have a voice and that is like really powerful.”

Another student is a 17- year old Latinx student at Yerba Buena High School, Angie Flores, helped organize a protest against I.C.E aggression towards her community.

During her AP literature Spanish class, she and a group of friends started talking about the impacts. She realized the impact that I.C.E was making her feel hurt and scared about her community. This woke her up to the fact that if she’s feeling these emotions then other people are too. 

Flores: “It hurt my heart knowing that people were worried about being separated and that kids were worried that something might happen to their parents. I couldn’t sit there and act like it didn’t matter because although it’s not happening to me or my family or even you. We’re all in this together”. 

When she said “We're all in this together”, she showed it by working with her classmates by talking to one of The City Peace Project members for support and guidance. Although they weren’t able to say what to do or not because of school policies, Flores remembered her 1st amendment rights and decided to walk out peacefully.

Flores wasn’t expecting a lot of participation since this was her first time organizing. When the day came for the protest and saw everyone,she felt emotional and happy knowing there were people who  really do care about these situations.

Flores: “Honestly I wasn’t even expecting that many people to show up. I thought maybe a small group would come, when I saw so many students show up. It made me emotional and happy. It showed me people care more than we think. It reminded me that sometimes others are waiting for somebody to take the next step.”

Flores was dedicated to spreading this awareness so she and the protesters decided to walk to city hall. This wasn’t just to cause trouble, it was to educate other people about the situations in the latin community. 

Flores: “We were standing together for what’s right. It wasn’t about making a scene or trouble, it was about being brave enough to say we see this. We care and we won’t stay silent.”

The walk to city hall showed that students aren’t as silent as people think. By coming together, they proved that standing up for others and speaking out for humanity still matters in their community.