Lifestyle

Video Of 7-Year-Old Chanting 'No Justice, No Peace' Goes Viral

by Julie Scagell
Wynta-Amor
Scott Brinton/Twitter

The pint-sized protestor is using her voice to spread an important message

As protests continue across the country, one now-viral video of a little girl marching and chanting “no justice, no peace” while marching with her mom has captured the hearts of everyone who sees it.

Long Island Herald Executive Editor Scott Brinton shared a video of 7-year-old Wynta-Amor Rogers, who was protesting in Merrick, New York. Rogers was passionately walking with other marchers, using her voice to further the Black Lives Matter message against systemic racism and police brutality.

Lakyia Jackson, Rogers mom, saw the post and sent a message to Brinton saying, “Thank for your support today. This is my daughter, Wynta-Amor. We have to show our kids the right way.”

Sen. Kamala Harris responded to the video saying, “Wynta-Amor gives me hope. Thank you both for everything that you’re doing. We’re in this fight together.”

Millions of people across the country have been protesting for almost two weeks after the death of George Floyd, a black man who died after a white police officer knelt on his neck for more than eight minutes. Former police officer Derek Chauvin was charged with second-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter, while three other officers, Thomas Lane, J. Alexander Kueng, and Tou Thao, who were also involved in Floyd’s arrest were charged with aiding and abetting second-degree manslaughter.

Jackson told Newsday in an interview that she initially planned to leave her daughter at home because of the rain, but her little girl wasn’t having it, insisting that they go to the protest together. “She was like, ‘No, mommy, I want to go,'” Jackson said.

Jackson also said that although her daughter may not understand everything going on, they’ve had plenty of discussions about what is happening. “I just have to explain to her, everyone is not peaceful,” Jackson said. “She understands the reason why we dropped on our knee was because the police, you know, killed George Floyd. … She understands that there are good cops and there are bad cops.”

Since the video has gone viral, Jackson has spoken out about her daughter’s involvement and her reason for bringing her to the protest. “We appreciate it so much,” she tweeted. “Wynta-Amor wanted to be heard and she has been. We must show the kids of the world the right way and I will start with mine.”

Rogers, who seems wise beyond her years, also spoke out about her reasons for joining the protesting. “I just want everybody to get along,” the first-grader told Newsday. “I want us to be a good New York community. If we get through with this, we can fight this, you know? And we can come into a big group in one piece — just one piece. I’m marching because I want black people and white people to be together. For my message for people, I just want God to be strong,” she said. “We can get through this.”