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Why Constance Young will always be an activist
As Americans continue to protest systemic racism, which appears day after day at performances and demonstrations in many cities in the country, the motivation for continued activism is both personal and informed by one of the community. How do people keep going? What galvanizes them? For Constance Paige Young, who was wounded among the protesters in Charlottesville, Va., Three years ago, after a white man drove his car into the crowd, and one woman was killed, it is a moral obligation to continue to look.
“I do not believe there is any facet of my life that is untouched,” Ms. Young, 37, on the aftermath of the deadly August 12, 2017, protest. ‘I’m not someone who’s an adrenaline rush or who’s looking for a thrill. I am a person who felt morally compelled to look up to me. “
Ms. Young, who lives in Washington, DC, was among the crowd protesting the Rally of Unite the Right, organized by white nationalists who descended on Charlottesville after the city decided to erect a Robert E. Lee statue from Emancipation Park remove. Gov. Ralph Northam declared a state of emergency, which considered the rally unfair, and police and the National Guard cleared the area.
Soon an approaching neo-Nazi plowed through a crowd of protesters, injuring many people and killing 32-year-old Heather Heyer. He was convicted of first-degree murder and sentenced to life in prison. Her death sparked a wave of protests and is the subject of a documentary that airs on Wednesday, on the third anniversary of the rally, about Research Discovery. (It will also be available to stream later Wednesday night.)
Ms. Young, who was featured in the documentary, grew up in Lafayette, La., And described in an interview “unspeakable acts of racist violence” while growing up in the South. She said members of her family eventually move to states like California or Illinois to both escape the racism they maintain in Louisiana and pursue economic opportunities. Their movements shaped their decision to leave the state as well, she said.
‘I do not feel at all comfortable living in the United States. It does not feel like a place that is safe for me, ”she said. “When I was a kid, David Duke ran for governor of the state, and this was the first time in my life where I can remember feeling an immense fear when I would sleep at night. . “
Ms. Young also attended an international boarding school, where friends from other countries taught her that she could choose where she would live – and that it could be anywhere in the world (she has since lived in Spain and Sweden, among others countries). Plus, she learned to challenge people’s assumptions about America and began asking people to educate themselves about aspects of American history, such as the origins of policing.
‘Most people know who Breonna Taylor was at this point. “Most people know who George Floyd was,” she said. ‘But I really want people to come locally. I want people to see who is doing anti-racism in their own communities. ”
The mother of Ms. Young died a few months after the attack in Charlottesville, and the family buried her in what she soon realized was a segregated cemetery.
‘I felt a lot of anger. I felt a lot of sadness, and it has become really difficult to become, but I felt that despite the progress that African-Americans have made, there is so much more we need to do, ‘she said.
It’s a kind of work that she said is sometimes insoluble.
When that happens, Ms. Young believes in her community and brings the stick through. She has continued to work with Copwatch, a network of activists who are monitoring police to document signs of excessive force. She recently began providing resources to those released from prison.
Many people criticized the protesters in Charlottesville, she said, because they were walking in a large group without permission. She claims she had to be close together, and that she had to be especially careful as a Black woman in Charlottesville with so many people armed with long guns. She wore glasses and did not wear contact lenses; she wore tight-fitting shoes and picked up a change of clothes.
After the car attack, Ms. Young was apprehensive when it came to attending protests. She’s doing something different now. She keeps her back up, she said, and does things like delivering bottles of water or snacks and does her best to keep people safe. However, she did not separate herself from being a lawyer.
“One of the things I’m most proud of in my life is planning a rally in Washington, DC, on the one-year anniversary of the attack. It was called the ‘Still Here, Still Strong Rally,’ ‘she said. “A small group of people from Unite the Right had their own march and rally in front of the White House and got a police escort on the Metro to get there, but there were thousands more of us.”
She understands that many white people, with the right intentions, want to help but do not know what to do. But she is aware of “well-meaning white saviors” who want to help reduce her debt. It is the last thing this current movement needs, she said.
“White people, in particular, must have their own account of their participation in the preservation of white supremacy and then be willing to do the work, because Black, brown and indigenous people of color, we can not do this on our own. own repair, “she said.
“We need people at every level. We need them in the boardroom. We need them in schools. We need them in governments, ”she continued.
While Ms. Young said the world she is intimate with may not have been realized in her life, she hopes she can play a role in moving society – and future generations – in the right direction.
‘I feel hope we can borrow from each other and inspire each other and help each other. We can really change our future, ”she said. ‘I had so many opportunities because people helped my parents. It is at this whole community level, this local level, where we really influence individual lives. ”
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