Peninsula Teens Organize San Mateo George Floyd Protest

SAN MATEO, CA — The local chapter of a national youth political activist group has organized a protest of the Memorial Day killing of George Floyd.

Floyd died after a disgraced Minneapolis police officer who has since been fired kneeled on his neck for more than eight minutes as three other police officers stood by idly.

Sophia Heath, the president of Coalition Z’s Bay Area chapter, said she expects around 300 to 700 people to attend the protest, which will be held at San Mateo City Hall on Wednesday, June 3, at 5 p.m.

Coalition Z is made up entirely of high school students.

San Mateo’s current mayor, Joe Goethals, and Claire Mack, the city’s first African-American mayor, are among those scheduled to speak at the event.

“Our primary mission is to allow African-Americans the opportunity to speak out about America's continuous cycle of police brutality,” Heath said.

“We'd also like to inform non-black citizens how they can support the black community at this time.”

Coalition Z, which launched on the day of President Trump’s inauguration on Jan. 20, 2017, is in six states and has about 200 members in 19 chapters. It’s stated goal is to bridge the gap between national government and Generation Z, those born since the mid 1990s.

The emergence of Coalition Z is part of a growing trend of youth activism.

Alexandra Iliopoulou, a co-founder and vice president of the Bay Area Chapter, believes today’s youths are politically active because they see how public policy directly impacts their lives.

The emergence of March for Our Lives, which grew from the 2018 Parkland, Fla., mass shooting that killed 17, typifies this trend.

“I think a lot of us are seeing that change needs to happen,” Iliopoulou said.

“A lot of it started with March for Our Lives because we saw an issue that’s directly affecting us. A lot of kids were scared to go to school, and a lot of kids started getting involved.

“With this presidency, people are experiencing more and more injustice. We really want to get involved and be as engaged as possible. We can help make a difference before we turn 18.”

Wednesday’s hourlong protest at City Hall will be followed by a march to the San Mateo Police Department station, where protesters will hold three minutes of silence for the victims of police brutality, Heath said.

Coalition Z’s Bay Area chapter formed in January and has 15 members, most of whom attend San Mateo County high schools.

Heath and Iliopoulou are sophomores at Hillsdale High of San Mateo. Outreach Director Kelly Yu is Castilleja of Palo Alto junior.

The group hasn’t yet made its march route public due to concerns of infiltration by outside groups. Iliopoulou said the group organized the protest in consultation with the San Mateo Police Department, noting the march will avoid residential neighborhoods.

The group contacted an attorney who suggested they contact law enforcement to inform them of age and intentions, which Iliopoulou says paid off.

“Things have run really smoothly,” she said. “They’ve blocked out parking lots for us, they’re having patrols come over, it’s been a really smooth process.”

A post publicizing the event on Patch’s Neighbor forum published over the weekend has generated spirited conversation in the comments section. As of Tuesday evening, the post had received 97 comments, an unusually high number for a Neighbor post.

Not all of the posts have been supportive, with some raising concerns that the protests could lead to violence and looting as other parts of the country have seen in recent days.

Some comments have come from those on the fringe, and contrary to what some have suggested, Coalition Z is not a George Soros-funded Antifa front, and Heath, Iliopoulou and Yu are not terrorists.

“I think the concerns are valid,” Iliopoulou acknowledged, “but I don’t think it’s going to be an issue.”

Iliopoulou said the group has cooperated with police and with the intent of making the event as safe as possible.

“There is always some chance of looters instigating violence during intentionally peaceful protests, however, we must recognize that the repercussions of staying silent while African-Americans are continuously murdered is much worse than the repercussions and chances of looting in our circumstance,” Heath said.

“Just like the civil rights movement did in the 60's, we must continue in our endeavors, regardless of looting, so that we may establish concrete change in this country like they did.”