A woman photographed breastfeeding her child at a recent protest has declared that she intends to use her new-found platform to "advocate for police reform and a better birth outcome for black women," according to a report by Yahoo.
Mother-of-four Kyla Carlos took her children to an event in Virginia last Sunday, and was snapped by her cousin simultaneously feeding her youngest son and raising her fist in a Black Power salute.
The now-iconic image soon spread across social media, prompting Carlos to further speak out about the systemic issues facing the Black community.
"I feed my kids anytime and anywhere and without a cover," said Carlos.
She also explained in an interview with Yahoo that she has tried to educate her children on sensitive subjects such as systematic racism and police brutality. As she explained of her 12-year-old daughter:
Watch As Black Female Police Officer Scolds White Cop For Pushing Kneeling Protester:"She can grasp what’s going on. I’ve asked her, ‘What do you know?’ and build off that. That day she asked me why I was crying. It added a new layer to our conversations, because she doesn’t know how vocal I am on a daily basis."
Carlos also revealed that she believes the current protests are symptomatic of a society that has reached breaking point. As she put it:
"I understand how looting and rioting can move things forward. ... When Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated, people rioted for 10 days and we got the Civil Rights Act. These things matter.
"People are waking up to the realization that black people have been oppressed, and those without black skin can be affected… if black people are treated equally, all will be equal."
Carlos’ story is just one example of how the protests are affecting people and communities all across the country.
Unrest continues to unfold across the US, as protests - some peaceful, some violent - are calling out the systemic injustices carried out against black people, not least seen by the recent deaths of George Floyd, Ahmaud Arbery, and Breonna Taylor.
As well as a call for justice, these ongoing protests are also demanding an end to police brutality and the racism that is so deeply entrenched in America and the western world.
The message is simple: Black lives matter.
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