Today, their economic status didn’t matter. Where they came from or where they were raised wasn’t an issue. Today, a group of people gathered for one reason: to be the change they wanted to see in the world.

On the corner of 25th and West Ave. in Newport News, VA, dozens of citizens of all races and ages came out to peacefully make a statement: Enough is enough. As they journeyed to the local courthouse in the name of 17-year-old Trayvon Martin, stories of personal experiences of being racially profiled were shared, tears for lives lost were shed and laughter as a result of the comfort found in each other was heard. 

I met some pretty remarkable people including a young boy named Trayvon who simply said  “I just wanted to be here to make sure his death isn’t in vain.”

It was conversations like this that took me back to January of this year. At a presidential brunch I attended, Roland Martin reminded a room full of African American 20-something-year-olds that we had work to do…a legacy to continue and a future to fight for. He reminded us all that the generation before us laid a rock-solid foundation and for the sake of the generation after us, we must build firmly upon the rock. It doesn’t have to be a big change, but if tons of people will do small things, the difference made can be monumental. I was so moved to see the way this community came together to lay their brick upon the rock and do their part to implement real change.

The rally was a simple reminder that just because a battle is uphill, doesn’t mean it’s not worth fighting. One no doesn’t stop a movement and one setback doesn’t stop a people of passion. To be in the midst of so many wonderful people was one thing,but to document it was something truly magical.