Los Angeles Times
By Jenny Jarvie
May 01, 2017
Armed with a bullhorn and a poster, 12-year-old Joseph Moreno came to Monday’s march with a message to President Trump.
“If you build a wall, my generation will knock it down,” read the Huntington Park resident’s poster. He came to the march with his aunt.
Joseph said he is an aspiring politician, but this march is how he can make his voice heard now.
“If they mess with our community, if they mess with our culture, we will not stay silent,” Joseph said. “From students to adults, we will come out and speak out for what we believe in.”
Other families also brought their young ones to protest.
For Juan Becerra, 58, standing together as a family was more important than sending his children to school on Monday.
“It’s important to be here together,” Becerra said. “It’s like going to war. If you do it alone, you’ll die, but if we join the fight together, we have a stronger chance of winning.”
Becerra, who is in the country illegally with his wife and works as a street sweeper and cashier, said Trump’s constant attacks on Latinos motivated him to march.
“I want my kids in school because it’s good for them to be in school, but I feel they should be here because this [ Trump’s immigration policies] affects them too,” he said.
Becerra said his children — 13-year-old Aver and 10-year-old Destiny — are afraid that he and his wife, Rocio, will one day be deported.
“My daughter is so afraid she thinks she’ll get deported,” Becerra said. “And she was born here.”
Holding a U.S. flag, Destiny said she doesn’t want Trump to build a wall along the border with Mexico.
“Build bridges,” she said.
Jennifer Galvez, 34, who works for the Los Angeles Community College District, said she brought her four siblings, ages 11 to 15, to the march to help them learn about organizing and to connect with other young activists.
“I’m an educator and I believe you can learn outside of the classroom,” she said. “I want them to learn what demonstrating is about and how to stand up for your rights.”
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