On Friday, in solidarity, I attended a Black Lives Matter march and demonstration in my city.

There were eloquent and passionate speeches by local black leaders; I’m not sure of their names, though—afterwards, the microphone was given to current and former Carlsbad residents of color who spoke, sometimes emotionally, about the discrimination they had faced here growing up or on the job.

In a moving way but not angry or raging, one after the other shared their negative interactions with the local police that were vastly different from mine. The crowd was mostly young but very diverse, and the common theme was “thank you for coming, thank you for hearing us”.

The only negative incident I personally witnessed was an angry white woman screaming that she wasn’t a racist but then she walked away when no one took the bait and engaged with her toxicity.

I wish that more of my neighbors had come out to lend support instead of fearmongering and condemning and criticizing the efforts of our younger generation who have (rightfully) decided that ENOUGH IS ENOUGH. They should be ashamed of themselves.

Maybe the truth is that they’re a little or a lot racist and the reality is that it’s hidden MOST of the time.

I was proud to be there and to witness this historic event.

I took a LOT of pics and videos ‘cos a pic really is worth a thousand words.

This slideshow requires JavaScript.