George Floyd protests have created a multicultural movement that’s making history

Alan Michnoff, center, protests police brutality and the death of George Floyd in front of the North Hollywood police station. “That’s encouraging that people want to stand up despite, maybe, their own privilege,” said Abdullah, a professor at Cal State L.A. “We also want to make sure that this is not a moment of them getting in but that they are ongoing partners in this work.” Melina Abudullah, co-founder of Black Lives Matter in Los Angeles, says the George Floyd protests have brought in broader support from non-black coalitions. She donated to social justice organizations and emailed a city councilman about an alternative spending plan for City Hall dubbed “the People’s Budget.” She’s come across posts on social media about black-owned coffee shops to support and recommendations for books and podcasts, finding Instagram to be a helpful tool in “how to be of service without it being your black friend’s responsibility.” Before the protests, her involvement with racial justice causes had been limited to donations. As a black man, he said he faced racism constantly and that whenever he walked outside, he had to be conscious of how he dressed and spoke “in order to have some type of acceptance.” A group of predominantly white neighbors from his apartment building attended a protest last week after he shared a photo of himself standing in front of National Guard trucks holding up a sign that read, “Vote or Die.” “When I see allies and people who don’t look like me still marching and protesting and vocalizing their feelings about what was happening, that makes me feel a lot better as to where we stand right now,” Earl said. … We can’t do it by ourselves.” Listening nearby was Nathalie Illescas, an 18-year-old resident of East L.A. who held a sign that carried the words “Don’t shoot.” It was her first protest, and she said she related to the oppression suffered by black people as a member of the Latino community whose family had received racist comments in public because of their skin color.