One Moreno Valley protester who joined a Black Lives Matter demonstration in Riverside on Friday shared her personal reasons with Eyewitness News.
She made the decision to attend despite ongoing concerns over the coronavirus.
"It's time to make a change. I can't make a change from my couch so I had to take the risk of coming out here and finding out what I could personally do to change," she said.
As a mother, she added, she felt an overwhelming need to exercise her voice after the death of George Floyd.
"The gentlemen who died could've easily been my son, so if I don't change that, I'm running the risk of one day hoping that you guys come out here to help me support my son, because he could easily be gone ..." she said, choking back tears.
In order to avoid that, she said, there needs to be change.
"I hear them saying all lives matter, but right now, it's our lives that are chalk lines on the ground. We just ask can we be taken into custody, instead of the morgue. That's the only thing we're asking for... for equal rights," she said.
Protesters share passionate speech on racial inequality, reasons for joining SoCal protests
Protesters share passionate speech on racial inequality, reasons for joining SoCal protests