HOLLYWOOD, Calif. – This isn't the first protest that Immaculate Heart High school senior Ruby Valla has attended.
Her activism started when her parents took her to Washington D.C. in 2017 to the women's march.
What You Need To Know
- Immaculate Heart High school senior Ruby Valla joins the protests
- Inspired to get into activism after attending Washington D.C. women’s march
- She will be attending Seattle University in the fall
- She joined the clean-ups throughout Los Angeles
"That protest really sparked something in me and that's when I started going to protests regularly," said Valla.
When the video surfaced of George Floyd dying from police brutality, she knew she needed to throw her support behind Black Lives Matter.
Even though she has been an activist she felt her work wasn't enough. She decided to get involved in the protests and cleanups around Los Angeles.
"I really felt that while I believe in the concept of equality as an ally, I really felt called to start actively helping and fighting and making this change," said Valla.
Before these protests and the coronavirus, she imagined herself spending the summer traveling or getting a part-time job before college. But now she plans to continue her activism starting with challenging her own beliefs.
"I think a huge part of what white people have to realize is, we need to reflect inward and really make a change within ourselves, you know confront the biases we all internally have and really read and think and listen to people of color," said Valla.
She will be attending Seattle University in the fall and after taking part in the George Floyd protests she is interested in studying environmental policy. Her academic focus will be on the earth and racial inequality when it comes to environmentalism.
"How chemical power plants are usually placed in majority of people of color neighborhoods and stuff like that, so I'm definitely interested in linking my activism to my interest in environmental science," said Valla.