SHS Students March for Black Lives

Gwen Ramsey, Co-Editor
October 17, 2020

Senior Haley Wagner on left and junior Quinn Wierdsma, right, stand together with their protest signs after the Black Lives Matter march down F street. The event was mainly organized by Wierdsma who is passionate about the movement.
“I quite frankly just want equality for all people. I’m someone who benefits from a racially influenced system as a white person,” Wierdsma explained. “I grew up in a very diverse spot (in Michigan) and I was able to see racial injustices that people of color and specifically black people faced in our society. I personally was very tired of seeing that. We are at such a boiling point as a society right now.”
On Friday September 18th, a small group of Salida High School students as well as members from the community, attended the march. Though it wasn’t affiliated with SHS, quite a few students came out to show their support of the Black Lives Matter movement. Wierdsma and others created posters about the event and talked to their fellow classmates and community members to spread awareness about the march.
(Photo By: Gwen Ramsey and Cassidy Gillis)
Seniors Saige Ferguson, left and Norah Blackburn, right show off their BLM poster. All of the students and community members stood peacefully. Though there was some opposition from other Salidans, the protesters didn’t engage.
Wierdsma said, “I had a whole spiel that I gave to everyone and said, ‘People get bored. They will leave if we are quiet.’ We just didn’t engage with them and they left because they got bored and weren’t getting anything out of it.”
The group did as they planned and stayed away from any violence or engagement with others.
(Photo By: Gwen Ramsey and Cassidy Gillis)
From left to right stand freshman Alli Bradford, senior Haley Wagner, junior Quinn Wierdsma and senior Fern Clark at Riverside park on Friday September 18th. Wagner helped organize the event alongside Wierdsma. She is motivated to participate in the BLM movement because her good friend showed her how important it is.
Wagner said, “I think it’s important. My best friend is mixed and she has always told me stories about when she’s with her mom and how people treat her differently than when she is with her dad, especially police officers.”
Freshman Bradford is passionate about the movement as well, and joined the group marching down F.
She explained, “I think that just getting the word out is all we can do. I feel like we can use our power as people who aren’t oppressed to help them out as much as we can.”
(Photo By: Gwen Ramsey and Cassidy Gillis)
On left, senior Robert Gutierrez and 2020 graduate Evangeline Caselden, right, participate in the protest. The organizers are planning to hold another event in October which will be very similar. They hope to make it a little more widespread and reach out to the community further. They also hope to work with SURJ Central Colorado, a local organization fighting for racial justice, to further the conversation.                                                                 (Photo By: Gwen Ramsey and Cassidy Gillis)