Students in Los Altos marked one year since George Floyd's death by gathering to once again demand change in both the classroom and courtroom.
The youth and community activists on Tuesday marched from Los Altos High School to a busy intersection on El Camino Real. The group left the campus with a clear message: Don't forget George Floyd and continue to fight for real change.
"I want more justice and I want Black people in this community to feel safe and not feel that their lives are constantly at risk," said student Sierra Desrosiers, who also serves as the Los Altos High School Black Student Union president.
More than 70 students and community members marched more than a mile and voiced the need for systemic, not symbolic changes.
Justice Vanguard, a grassroots nonprofit, organized the march and is focused on making changes in education. The group said since Floyd's death, it has worked to help eliminate school resource officers at Los Altos High School and is trying to add a mandatory ethnic studies course to the curriculum.
But the group's co-founder Kenan Moes said there is much more work to be done to end systemic racism in the Bay Area. Moes said he experienced it in high school as he rode his bike home with a broken helmet.
"I get one block out and a police officer pulls me over and pulls out a gun or Taser," Moes said.
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That incident is one of the reasons he and others are fighting to make sure the next generation of African Americans will feel they are supported and not a suspect.
Demonstrators that participated pledged to continue to protest to make sure people remain committed to change.
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