BROOKHAVEN, Ga. — Owen and Hadley Norton are children for change. Friday, they marched through Brookhaven Heights in DeKalb County with signs they helped make, which read “Justice” and “Fair 4 All.”
After days of protests, their mother, Atlanta native Ruthie Norton, decided it was time to jump in.
“This is a good opportunity for me as an adult, as a parent and as a community member to do what I feel is right, but also to get our kids involved safely,” Norton told Channel 2 anchor Wendy Corona.
Norton was just one of many people who wanted their children to take part in protests around the metro but didn’t feel it was safe for them.
The week of protests over the death of George Floyd began May 29 in metro Atlanta, with protesters calling for an end to systemic racism and inequality.
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For the Nortons, it got real on a ride through Buckhead with questions from the back seat.
“Mommy, why are there tanks at the mall? Mommy why are all the windows boarded up? What’s going on? So, he’s seeing some damage and seeing some collateral from what’s happening and it’s impossible to ignore,” Norton stated.
A conversation had to happen and from it came a march for children.
Norton told Corona that even before the protests and riots, she talked with her children on themes of fairness and equality. Now with their own involvement, Norton hopes children will learn one more thing.
“I also want to teach them that they have a voice and that if they see something wrong, they can stand up and speak too,” Norton said.
Brookhaven police provided traffic control for the children’s march.
Norton said that now more than ever she feels a real sense of ownership over Atlanta and wants to be part of the solution. She believes it involves bringing children into the conversation.
A colleague of Norton’s has taken her idea to his neighborhood in Florida.
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