By Isaac Donsky
Baltimore Watchdog Staff Writer
Katie Pendergast had always been ambivalent about social justice. That changed in 2020 when her boyfriend convinced her to join the Black Lives Matter movement.
“I used to think I didn’t have a voice because I wasn’t white enough or enough of a person of color,” said Pendergast, who is Asian-American. “But I’ve never felt more welcome than I did when I joined the movement.”
Pendergast is one of about 26 million Americans who has taken to the streets this year to protest police brutality and racism. Of those 26 million, nearly 41 percent are ages 18-29, according to the Pew Research Center.
For the older generations who have fought this fight before, seeing youth participate in such numbers is a welcome sight.
“Seeing the activism from the young people is refreshing,” said Pamela Queen, who represents Maryland’s District 14 in the state legislature. “When I started teaching at Morgan State, I thought ‘Wow, these kids don’t get excited about anything!’ This movement was long overdue.”
Young people are doing more than just protesting. Shantelle Dunlap, a junior at Towson University, is the co-founder and communications manager for Harco Freedom Reclaimed, a social justice organization founded this year that spreads awareness about the experiences of African-Americans living in Harford County, Md.
“We initially founded Harco Freedom Reclaimed to celebrate Juneteenth,” Dunlap said. “But after seeing the poor race relations in Harford County, we knew we had to do more.”
With just 12 full-time volunteers, HFR is not the largest social organization in Harford County. But it is the only one founded and led entirely by Black women. Dunlap and her fellow founders have organized multiple events across Harford County, including art installations, food drives and mentoring programs.
The one constant at all these events is that the turnout is youthful.
“The majority of the people who come to our events are young people,” Dunlap said. “There are definitely some older folks, too, but many can’t come out in person due to the pandemic. They support us regardless.”
HFR held its first major event in June to protest the death of George Floyd. Pendergast was among the participants.
“It was a brutally hot day out,” Pendergast said. “I felt like I was going to pass out of heat exhaustion.”
Pendergast said that people came up to her throughout the day asking if she was all right. One kind woman handed her a first-aid kit and some water.
“The atmosphere was incredibly welcoming,” Pendergast said. “Everyone understands that we have a job to do and that we’ve all got to work together.”
That welcoming atmosphere is not unique to Harford County. Across Maryland, protestors come together to form a community. Towson University journalism student Matt Hubbard has seen this firsthand.
“I was in Washington, DC, right after George Floyd died,” Hubbard said. “It really was like a whole community out there. People were trading food. Little kids were handing out water. Everyone had hand sanitizer and extra masks because of the pandemic. It got to the point where I had to refuse more hand sanitizer because I had been offered so much.”
Hubbard has covered several major protests across Maryland as an independent journalist. His involvement is indicative of another trend: It’s not just the protestors who are younger, but the media is as well.
“Most of the people covering these protests are young people my age,” Hubbard said. “Independent journalists running around with DSLR cameras, grabbing on-the-site interviews and taking video.”
Hubbard said that covering major protests in cities like Washington, DC, or Baltimore is a dangerous task. He wears protective gear to protect himself from clashes between riot police and protestors.
“When it hits the fan, I do a quick 180 and make sure I know where I am,” Hubbard said. “If I’m on the front lines, I fall back, less I risk getting trampled”
This level of danger is not present at the Harford County protests, Pendergast said, but tense moments still arise. She recalls a protest in June in front of the Harford County Sheriff’s Office.
“This young black girl was giving a heartbreaking speech,” she said, “and one of the cops watching the event started laughing hysterically. Everyone was furious, but nobody got violent.”
Even with the challenges, youthful protesters’ goals and visions remain firm. And they’re not going anywhere, they say.
“We need to create an equitable system,” Dunlap said. “We need to dismantle systemic racism, abolish the police and put laws in place that protect the unprotected. And that’s not going to happen overnight.”