APPLETON, Wis. (SPECTRUM NEWS) -- Protests surrounding the death of George Floyd have popped up across the state of Wisconsin. In Appleton, young adults have taken the lead to get their message across.
Faith Roska is 17-years-old. Last Sunday she held a megaphone and spoke to a crowd for thirty minutes. A crowd she helped organize.
“I think my generation is a lot more vocal about these things and I think my generation is a lot more adamant that we’re not having it," said Roska.
She's seen her message resonate with others, including police officers.
“I stopped and I was talking with one of the officers who was blocking off the roads for us and he was in tears when talking about the video of George Floyd,” said Roska.
Darren Fields is 22. He's trying to evoke change peacefully. To him, that still comes with an element of fear.
“After the protests last night, I came home. I was scared. I closed all my windows. Locked all my doors. But at the end of the day I’m going to wake up proud. I’m going to wake up strong and I’m going to keep doing this. It means my life,” said Fields.
Ravel Wright is 21. When the Appleton Police offered to march with him, he had another idea. He asked them to kneel with him.
“The protest is about equal, everybody being equal. If you want to shake my hand, if you want to kneel with me, that’’s you showing me that we are equal. That’s showing me that the protest we’re having is having progress," said Wright.
This group of protestors are trying to make connections.
“We understand that some people are not going to side with us shaking officer’s hands. We understand that some people are not going to side with us hugging officers, kneeling with officers. We shed our tears with them. We let them know how we felt. Yeah we did it with yelling. Yeah we did it with anger,” said Fields.
Amidst all of the commotion of a protest, Wright knelt with an officer and had a meaningful conversation.
“He knew when he looked me in my eyes, he felt the pain. That is the man that made this happen. He might be a police officer but I know he’s with us.”
In a social media post after the death of George Floyd, Appleton Police Chief Todd Thomas issued a statement. It read in part: "The Appleton Police Department reaffirms our commitment of serving every member of our community with compassion, integrity and courage. We know this incident has heightened the fear and mistrust that some members of our community have for law enforcement. We hear you and are committed to building relationships to gain your trust."
After the protestors and officers embraced, they marched together down College Ave.
"This is a new generation and we're going to be heard. People have to understand where we're coming from," said Fields.