Photo by Quinn Clark
Christine Neumann-Ortiz, executive director of Voces de la Frontera, says people must vote in order to tear down the emerging fascism in the United States.
Cassandra Casas, a 17-year-old senior at Ronald Reagan High School, still remembers when her mother would wrap her in her arms and hide her from Immigration and Customs Enforcement knocking at their door. Casas says her world came crashing down after her mother was deported in 2012.
“Her being taken away from us led me to a state of long-term depression, amongst other mental illnesses,” Casas said. “The separation of my family and the thousands of other families needs to stop. All of these families are being separated without the government taking into consideration the long-term trauma the children have to live with.”
Photo by Quinn Clark
Mason Schwab and Leslie Jones run a table where people can write letters to Jacob Blake as he recovers in the hospital.
Casas is the youth organizer for Youth Empowered in the Struggle, the youth branch of Voces de la Frontera, an immigrant rights organization. Casas, along with other high schoolers such as Andrea Hoppe, Matiana Hernandez and Alexa Moreno, decided to organize a march to unite people of color in Milwaukee. Hundreds came to their event, including Sen. Lena Taylor and Tracy Cole, mother of Alvin Cole, a man shot by a Wauwatosa police officer.
The protest’s message was to both abolish ICE and to defund the police, which, Casas says, are similar issues. “I think there’s a big division between the African-Americans and Hispanics, specifically in Milwaukee, when I think both of us face very similar issues within authorities in Milwaukee, that being police and ICE,” Casas said.
|
|
Photo by Quinn Clark
Quinn Payme-Shaw is excited to show the letter his mom helped him write to Jacob Blake.
North Side to South Side
The march began at the Mitchell Park Domes, and stretched over the 16th Street Bridge, the historic link between the South Side and the North Side. Casas says that they decided to march over the bridge as a symbol of unity. “Segregation has been very prevalent in Milwaukee,” Casas said. “I think that now is a time for change. And I think that, if we work together, we can make that change happen.”
Photo by Quinn Clark
Sen. Lena Taylor reminds the protesters in front of the Milwaukee County Courthouse how important it is that they do more than just march.
Protesters stood in solidarity with people who lived in fear of both the police and ICE. At the beginning of the march, many protesters lined up at a table that offered construction paper and markers to write letters to Jacob Blake as he recovers in the hospital.
Mason Schwab, who was running the table along with Leslie Jones, saw that there was a GoFundMe started for Jacob Blake; however, he wanted to give Blake something else that could lift his spirits in the hospital. “Another element of this for me was, unfortunately, when there is an incident of police brutality, there is not often a living victim,” Schwab said. “There's no survivor, so now that we've got a survivor, we've got to show them some support.”
Photo by Quinn Clark
Protesters raise their fists and sit in silence to remember those whose lives have been lost.
Hundreds of protesters followed YES and Voces de la Frontera to the Milwaukee County Courthouse where Sen. Lena Taylor reminded them of the power of voting and holding elected officials accountable. “I want you to understand that you are where the power is,” Taylor said. “You are the ones who determine the amount of accountability that exists on anything from the police to your elected official that makes those policies.”
Photo by Quinn Clark
Protesters hold up a sign created by Youth Empowered in the Struggle that asks for the abolishment of ICE.
Christine Neumann-Ortiz, executive director of Voces de la Frontera, voiced Taylor’s plea for people to exercise their right to vote. Neumann-Ortiz stressed that Wisconsin will be an important state to win in order to remove President Donald Trump from office. “Wisconsin is the tipping point,” Neumann-Ortiz said. “Anyone who is new or hasn't voted often is going to decide it, and it is always decided by very few votes.”
The protesters marched back to the Domes, chanting “No justice, no peace” and “No Trump, no KKK, no fascist U.S.A.”
1 of 4
Photo by Quinn Clark
The Black and Brown Solidarity March crosses the historic 16th Street Bridge that connects the South Side to the North Side.
2 of 4
Photo by Quinn Clark
The protesters begin their march to the Milwaukee County Courthouse.
3 of 4
Photo by Quinn Clark
4 of 4
Photo by Quinn Clark
Cassandra Casas raises her fist during a moment of silence for those who have lost their lives at the hands of ICE and the police department.
To read more News Features, click here.
To read more articles by Quinn Clark, click here.
