Fredericksburg Parent

10 Fredericksburg Parent and Family • July 2020 At press time, five different groups of protestors had held marches in Fredericksburg, including a silent sit-in at the police station, a unity concert and a reenactment of a march by black Walker Grant graduates who changed their graduation location 70 years ago when they were told to enter through the back door. One of the marchers, Charese Matthews, a 32-year Stafford mother, engaged to a police officer, spoke with Fredericksburg Parent and Family. She marched from Mayfield to City Hall on March 31 and has since attended other marches in the city. The main reason I'm protesting is because first and foremost, I am African American, and I do live in America. It has been hard for so many years, not just for myself but my family. We date back to slavery days, and those are things that still affect us to this day. My great-great grandmother was a slave. My mother and father lived through segrega- tion. To sit here and say that these things still don't affect us to this day—that's a lie. I don't feel like in the year 2020 that we should still be doing this. It's ridiculous to me. My mom is in her 60s sitting at home watching this, and she can't come outside during the protests because we're still dealing with the pandemic and the coronavirus. But, being over 60, why is she still dealing with these issues? This is tiring. We are tired. Black people are tired. I'm dealing with it now at the age of 32. My daughter is 9, and she's watching this. We went through the same thing with Martin Luther King Jr., so why are we still doing this in the year 2020? All we want is racial equality. It is really that simple. I don't sugarcoat anything with my daughter. If she asks me a question, I tell her the truth because that's the world we live in. You can't sugarcoat anything when it comes to your chil- dren. I don't want her going out being blind thinking that the world is fair when it's really not. I have to prepare her for what reality is just like my mother did for me. But, at the same time, I still teach her respect. You give everyone a chance, but at the same time understand, yes honey, your skin is brown, and life may be a little bit harder for you. WRITTEN BY SUSIE WEBB Why are you protesting? FIRST PERSON: FIRST PERSON: Parents' Perspectives of the Marches Charese Matthews Were there any moments at the Fredericksburg protests that stuck out to you? What is it like parenting your daughter among all of this? Unity in the Community Concert Ashleigh Chevalier Mother of one, musician I thank Armani Washington, the hard-working young man responsible for putting on the Unity in the Community event, for inviting me to per- form. I was honored to stand beside my brothers and sis- ters in solidarity for truths we must understand—that black lives matter. Racism is not gone. The only way to conquer this great evil in humanity and ulti- mately build a bridge over the divide is to do exactly what we would have to do in any damaged relationship: we must humbly seek truths outside of ourselves, within ourselves and, for me, seek the truth in Jesus Christ. "Racism is not gone."

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