The fervor of protests across the US has invigorated thousands of people who have been latent in their homes and exacerbated by racist, hostile, and failing systems of government. Young people, who may never have participated in activism, have found community in the streets. This camaraderie is ever clear in an activist group called Warriors in the Garden, a youth-led collective that materialized naturally at protests earlier this month. The group hadn’t met before attending the protests, but have since gained a significant following, organizing and leading marches from hundreds to thousands in different areas of the city.

The group has also attracted media attention, including NBC and the New York Times, in part because of the gamut of members, including students, models, and artists of different ages and backgrounds. Members take turns speaking and rallying the crowd with a particular passion and style, which relays the frustration with the overwhelming cases of police brutality along with celebrating the change they feel is eminent.

Organized and resolute, Warriors in the Garden’s demands coincide with the larger movement, insisting that New York City end qualified immunity, defund and demilitarize the NYPD, and reallocate the budget to communities of color. Chi Ossé, 22, has announced his bid for City Council in the 36th district. “My running for city council is a win-win situation. Even if I don’t win the election, I think I’m starting a conversation,” he told NBC news. “Not only the city will hear, but the country will hear what I have to say.” Social media has been a major mobilizing tool for the movement, and organizers realize the power. “We understand that this fight against white supremacy is multi-faceted. We need to be protesting, we need to be posting online, we need to be voting, and we also need to be running for these positions of power,” says Ossé.

However, the decision reached early Wednesday did not placate the vast majority of demonstrators, including the Warriors. Mayor Bill de Blasio and council speaker Corey Johnson had agreed to cut $1 billion from the Police Department’s $6 billion budget, but the details appeared to be ineffectual. According to the New York Times, one of the main shifts is $400 million directed to the Department of Education for school safety agents. However, the DOE had already funded the program, and the money would still go toward policing in schools.

Derek Ingram, 28, works on digital marketing and outreach for the group, with tactics such as social media campaigns to fuel the awareness of the movement. “Recently, from anonymous accounts, I’ve been receiving death threats. It’s just really scary, but we still won’t stop. We’re still motivated. We’re still going to coalesce and reach our goals.”

Follow the Warriors in the Garden on instagram

Jul 2 Warriors in the Garden: the Activist Collective on the Front Lines

Jul 3 The Fourth

Jul 1 From the Archives: Abelardo Morell

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