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Protesters outline their vision for the future
Where do we go from here?
LOS ANGELES - At the Black Lives Matter protest in downtown Los Angeles, people are calling for changes to our society.
The majority of people gathered on 1st and Broadway were asking to defund the police or change the system entirely.
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"We need changes now. That's what the people want, changes that are not just going to help black people, but that are going to change everyone. You have to move a lot of that money from the police budget to the actual community. We should put neighborhoods first. No cop needs to carry a gun. SWAT needs to come in for that if it's a violent case, they can be called in, but the police do not need to be a force of violence in our community," said RJ Dawson.
Michael Vitz-Wong believes the community should be involved in policing.
"The police cannot investigate their own. They're always being let off scot-free so we need democratic community control over the police to ensure that communities have the ability to hire, to fire, to subpoena, to discipline, whatever to keep our communities safe," said Vitz-Wong.
People are also questioning the kinds of force police should use moving forward.
"The police, they need to understand that our lives do matter, they need to stop with the brutality against black people, against all people. It's not necessary to shoot people three times, five times, seven times, that needs to stop now," said Liliana Acedo.
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People are also asking for changes to the education system.
"We need to think about equity and not equality, but equity for everyone so everyone has the same starting point and also for infrastructure. We need it to be accessible to everyone," said Laila Dellakasqua.
Some of the protesters want others to think about how they view people of color, even in cartoons.
"They tend to have people of a darker hue, or animals of a darker hue as the villains, this needs to change," said a protester.
Another protester believes the best option is for African Americans and people of color to start their own businesses.
"We have no rights here. We can get our own airlines, our own gas stations, and have a country of our own," he said.
Not everyone at the protest shared the same ideas, however, the group listened to each other, and allowed others to share their opinions about what change would look like in Los Angeles and the country.