Interviewed By Micha Green
AFRO D.C. Editor
mgreen@afro.com
Zada Smallwood, 18 is a recent graduate of South County High School and plans to attend Sacramento State in the fall where she will be majoring in Psychology. In her spare time, she enjoys running track and did so for 4 years in high school. She also volunteered for a local club youth track team, and was a member of her high school’s sports leadership and leadership classes.
Zada Smallwood is an 18-year-old recent graduate of South County High School, who worked to organize a lie-in at the Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial in D.C. on June 4 in collaboration with Faces of the Future and joined by Concerned Citizens of D.C. (Courtesy Photo)
AFRO: What was your life like and relationship to social justice movements prior to the Ahmaud Arbery, Breonna Taylor, and George Floyd incidents?
ZS: My life consisted of talking with friends and family about the many incidents that would be shown on the news and on social media. I would educate myself and read the stories of the incidents as well as educate myself on systemic racism and oppression of Black people.
AFRO: What are the core issues behind your organization?
ZS: I am not part of any organization, but I worked with Faces of the Future for the event and the protest was joined by another organization, the Concerned Citizens of D.C.
AFRO: When did you decide to begin organizing the most recent protest?
ZS: I began to organize the most recent protest at the MLK memorial after seeing people I knew from school, who are now known as Faces of the Future, plan and successfully execute a march on Sunday, May 31. I then started thinking of other ways/protests that could peacefully take place and that is when I brought up the idea of a “lie-in” to a member of Faces of the Future. From that day forward and up until Thursday, June, 4th, I started planning the lie-in.
AFRO: Congratulations on organizing such a successful event! Tell us about your event on June 4 that began at the MLK Memorial.
ZS: The event at the MLK Memorial was more than I expected, in a good way. On the original schedule for the event, I had planned for opening remarks from myself and the members of Faces of the Future, spoken words by two recently graduated seniors Tarik and Jabril, the lie-in itself, and remarks from Micha Green . However, we were joined by the Concerned Citizens of D.C. who marched from Farragut Square to the MLK Memorial. They brought a great number of people and excellent speakers that enhanced the impact of the event as a whole. Afterwards, the two groups, Faces of the Future and the Concerned Citizens of D.C., marched to the Capitol. Overall, it was a successful event, planned and executed by young adults who joined together to all make their voices heard and to speak out against the injustices of today’s society.
AFRO: Were you concerned about the COVID-19 pandemic?
ZS: Yes, I was concerned about the COVID-19 pandemic, but I knew that with the momentum of this movement and the bigger issues of consistent racial injustices I needed to make my voice heard and be a part of the change the world needs. I also came prepared for being in a large crowd and brought a mask, hand sanitizer and Clorox wipes to take precautions.
AFRO: What were some of the challenges you faced in organizing the event and how did you overcome it?
ZS: Some challenges I faced in organizing the event was spreading the word and making a plan for the event. I overcame these challenges by reaching out to everyone I knew and using all social media platforms to get the word out. I eventually received recognition from two verified people on Instagram who reposted the flyer, which helped spread the word a lot. As for making a plan, I wrote out a script and schedule and printed out copies of it and brought it with me to the protest.
AFRO: What are you most proud of?
ZS: I’m most proud of the turnout and the peacefulness. I was glad to see the many people who wanted to make their voices heard and who showed out to pay their respects to the many lives lost to police brutality and racism. If I had to guess I would say there were a couple of hundred people who willingly took a knee on the hot pavement for 8 minutes and 46 seconds to represent how long the police officer had his knee of George Floyd’s neck. That shows the commitment to change that everyone there had.
AFRO: What are the next steps?
ZS: The next steps are to continuously go into Washington D.C. and be a part of the protests, marches and lie-ins that will be taking place until there is some form of concrete change to the systems in place today. I will continue to talk to friends and family and educate myself and others on everything that is happening and encourage them to vote! I, myself, will also be voting in the November election and the elections prior to that and I will encourage everyone around me to do so as well!
