‘You have a voice’; High Point parents bring kids to protest against racism, police brutality

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    HIGH POINT, NC (WGHP ) — Many of the Triad’s kids joined their parents in protests on Sunday, giving them a front seat to history.

Families took on these marches together.

Parents tell FOX8 they hope their children will be inspired to change the world.

In High Point, mothers, fathers and their kids walked from Market Center Drive to the Morehead Recreation Center.

With chants, songs and prayers, more than 1,000 protesters, including Police Chief Kenneth Shultz, marched through city streets, hoping to create change and end police brutality.

“I wanted to come out here and be a difference in the world,” said 11-year-old Brice Dale.

Some of the crowd’s loudest voices came from its youngest supporters.

“I’m out here because, even though I’m not black, I’m white, and everyone still matters,” explained 10-year-old Lily McCann. “Even if they’re mixed or white or black, it doesn’t matter what color you are, it matters who you are.”

The kids were learning from the adults around them.

“I wanted to make sure they understood what was important, that God created everyone and he created them as equally as anyone else,” said Cassia Simms.

Simms brought her two bi-racial children with her to the protest.

“I wanted to make sure that they were prepared but felt confident in themselves that they had a voice,” she added.

Chiquita Ellurbe brought her son while wearing a shirt that read, “I’m a proud black mother of an African-American son who wants to live.”

She said she’s fighting for him.

“[I want] to teach my son, regardless of whether you are young, old, white, black, that you have a voice,” said Ellurbe. “You have a voice. You have a right to voice your opinion, and your voice will be heard.”

These parents tried to teach their kids life lessons during the march, even in the blazing heat.

“[My mom said] to keep going,” said 9-year-old Selah Smith. “Because it’s worth it in the end.”

“They take us, and they show us this is how the world is. I wish it couldn’t be like this, but this is how it is,” added Dale.

Parents tell FOX8 they want to instill in their children, the importance of what it means to be the future.

“This is an opportunity to make change. We want our kids to be apart of that,” said Cassia Simms.

“We have an opportunity to get it right going forward. We’re bringing these kids up with the awareness of, this is the world we live in,” added Rena Dale, who also brought her two kids to the protest. “And unless we do something about it, this is going to be the world that you live in.”

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