By Yilin Xie
Medill Reports

On May 30, Mara Castillo took her daughter, Sarah Castillo, with her to downtown Chicago for a Black Lives Matter protest.

“Little children were there. They could have gotten hurt,” the 13-year-old said one month after witnessing the violence and the chaos that day. “It showed that some people are cruel.”

Although bringing Sarah to a large-scale march during a pandemic means exposing her to dangers, Castillo wants her daughter “to be part of the history and part of the change.” To the family, the protest has a personal meaning. “One thing I want to teach her is that it is ok to fight back,” Castillo said.