By: Megan Yang
Two Redwood High school students organized a peaceful protest that took place in Downtown Visalia in front of Starbucks on Main Street.
The posters that were made said things relating to “LGBTQ+ rights”, “Asian Hate”, “Toxic Masculinity”, “Black Lives Matter”, and “Body Positivity.”
Aliza Maldonado, ‘24 is a student at Redwood High School. Maldonado is one of the people who helped coordinate the protest. Maldonado says, “What made me want to start a protest was because of… everything going on in our world.”
The protest took place in front of Starbucks on Main Street because “[they] wanted to choose a place that [they] knew would get the most attention,” Maldonado says.
Maldonado was at first “a little nervous” because she knew “not everyone was going to agree with [them].” She hoped “after seeing [the protest] they would have a different mind set,” she says.
A “couple of ugly stares” were made at the group and “an old man screamed in [their] face saying what [they] were saying was wrong,” according to Maldonado.
She continues, “we did not want any trouble,” but he kept talking, so they “had called a security guard across the street.” One of the cars did “scream out” at the group and it “did not make [Maldonado] happy” because “it’s sad to see another person judge normal human beings.”
There was an “amazing supporter” who came by 10 times, holding up her fist, honking, telling them “she loved [them] and what [they] were doing was amazing.” It made Maldonado “so happy knowing that there are actually good people out there like her, for example,” she states.
Addy Roth, ‘23 is another student at Redwood who also helped organize the protest. Roth’s “passion for the things [she] believes in, made [her] want to protest.” She “likes to know [her] voice makes a difference,” she says.
It was “super exciting” for Roth, once her and Maldonado planned the protest. Roth felt “so powerful and [she] felt heard,” when she was protesting, “even though there were many people that disagreed with [them] and would yell offensive things like slurs at [them].”
Roth says, “we protested for human rights… everyone should be accepted… everyone is human and we all deserve our rights to be free.”
Megan Yang
Megan Yang ('24) is in her 4th year of Journalism. She is a writer and editor for the News section and enjoys writing for the Redwood Gigantea.
Tags: Asian hate, blm, body positivity, clubs & lifestyles, LGBTQ+, megan yang, protests, redwood gigantea, redwood journalism, redwood rangers