Kyra Liedtke, protester and rally organizer for the Black Lives Matter Movement. Photo and Interview.
Title
Kyra Liedtke, protester and rally organizer for the Black Lives Matter Movement. Photo and Interview.
Subject
A photo and interview from a local youth protester and leader on the intersection between the Covid-19 Pandemic and the BLM movement.
Description
K. Liedtke Interview, protester and rally organizer for BLM
Z: What is your name and age?
K: Kyra Liedtke, 21.
Z: How have you been personally affected by the Covid-19 pandemic?
K: I have had many friends contract Covid-19. It's been a little stressful and worrying seeing my loved ones go through Covid. Especially when I notice the repetition of my friends that work in restaurants or customer service getting sick.
Z: How do you think the world has changed in the past few months?
K: People are on both sides of the extremes now, I think. People are not only hyper critical but also extremely kind and considerate. People's true colors have started to shine through.
Z: Why are you out protesting/why do you protest?
K: One of the reasons why I am protesting is because this is a really important issue impacting the black community, and honestly not even the just the black communities but the many POC communities as well. In my opinion, if I don't stand up and say something who will? I feel as if it's my duty to protest, speak out for those that can't speak out, or don't have the platform to speak out about the injustices that are happening in our country.
Z: What does police reform mean to you?
K: In my opinion, police reform means completely dismantling the idea of the police and rebuilding it from the very start. Police reform needs to start at the very beginning because systematic racism is so far bedded within police brutality that we need to make a better model for [protecting our communities and not just one type of community, but all of our communities in America.
Z: Do you think the world is changing for the better?
K: I personally think that the world is changing for the better. People are starting to realize the systemic issues that we have in America and actually standing up for them, and realizing that they need to be speaking up. If you even look at the protests in general, we had protests about the same issues, black lives matter, in all 50 states reaching from New York, Minnesota, Wyoming, Washington. So many people came to support in our country. The conversation has just began, but the fact that the conversation is actually starting about the issues we have here in America fills me with so much hope that things are slowly going to start to change for the better.
Z: How do you think Covid-19 has influenced or has silenced people in their urgency to commit social action?
K: I don't think Covid-19 has affected people in the urgency to commit social action because there's still people out there protesting every single day despite whether the numbers are going up or down, or staying neutral. At the beginning, I think the only aspect that Covid affected was that the protesters were stuck inside for a month or two months and not being able to go anywhere. And the only source of people we had was our television screens, so when people saw the case for George Floyd, I think there was this instant call to react. People saw the atrocities that were happening and needed to go out and fight for those that were being silenced by systematic racism and police brutality.
Z: How do you think this era will be remembered?
K: I think this era will be remembered by people coming together for the greater good. In addition, this era will be remembered as people coming together to fight against what is wrong and what is evil and fighting for what is good and what is pure.
Z: Thank you so much
K: You're very welcome
Z: What is your name and age?
K: Kyra Liedtke, 21.
Z: How have you been personally affected by the Covid-19 pandemic?
K: I have had many friends contract Covid-19. It's been a little stressful and worrying seeing my loved ones go through Covid. Especially when I notice the repetition of my friends that work in restaurants or customer service getting sick.
Z: How do you think the world has changed in the past few months?
K: People are on both sides of the extremes now, I think. People are not only hyper critical but also extremely kind and considerate. People's true colors have started to shine through.
Z: Why are you out protesting/why do you protest?
K: One of the reasons why I am protesting is because this is a really important issue impacting the black community, and honestly not even the just the black communities but the many POC communities as well. In my opinion, if I don't stand up and say something who will? I feel as if it's my duty to protest, speak out for those that can't speak out, or don't have the platform to speak out about the injustices that are happening in our country.
Z: What does police reform mean to you?
K: In my opinion, police reform means completely dismantling the idea of the police and rebuilding it from the very start. Police reform needs to start at the very beginning because systematic racism is so far bedded within police brutality that we need to make a better model for [protecting our communities and not just one type of community, but all of our communities in America.
Z: Do you think the world is changing for the better?
K: I personally think that the world is changing for the better. People are starting to realize the systemic issues that we have in America and actually standing up for them, and realizing that they need to be speaking up. If you even look at the protests in general, we had protests about the same issues, black lives matter, in all 50 states reaching from New York, Minnesota, Wyoming, Washington. So many people came to support in our country. The conversation has just began, but the fact that the conversation is actually starting about the issues we have here in America fills me with so much hope that things are slowly going to start to change for the better.
Z: How do you think Covid-19 has influenced or has silenced people in their urgency to commit social action?
K: I don't think Covid-19 has affected people in the urgency to commit social action because there's still people out there protesting every single day despite whether the numbers are going up or down, or staying neutral. At the beginning, I think the only aspect that Covid affected was that the protesters were stuck inside for a month or two months and not being able to go anywhere. And the only source of people we had was our television screens, so when people saw the case for George Floyd, I think there was this instant call to react. People saw the atrocities that were happening and needed to go out and fight for those that were being silenced by systematic racism and police brutality.
Z: How do you think this era will be remembered?
K: I think this era will be remembered by people coming together for the greater good. In addition, this era will be remembered as people coming together to fight against what is wrong and what is evil and fighting for what is good and what is pure.
Z: Thank you so much
K: You're very welcome
Creator
Zachariah Brown
Date
July 14, 2020
Contributor
Zachariah Brown
Format
Photograph and written interview
Language
English
Citation
Zachariah Brown, “Kyra Liedtke, protester and rally organizer for the Black Lives Matter Movement. Photo and Interview.,” accessed April 20, 2024, https://publichumanities.omeka.net/items/show/18.