Why this Yellowknife teen spends hours every week holding up a Black Lives Matter sign

Serena Jenna, 14, opens up a folding chair and pulls a green blanket out of her backpack to protect herself from the rain.

She hunkers down for several hours at a street corner in downtown Yellowknife.

Drivers blow their horns as they pass, others walk by barely noticing her.

On her lap is a large cardboard sign. It reads "BLM" in large letters, which stands for Black Lives Matter.

For the last five Tuesdays, Jenna has set up camp in this same spot quietly demonstrating for several hours.

"It's just basic human decency," she said.

"I know sitting here some people are going to say, 'Oh, that's such a brave thing to do,'" said Jenna about being a teenager standing up against racism.

"Don't do that," she said.

"It's about Jacob Blake, George Floyd, Elijah McClain, Breonna Taylor and every single other person who has faced discrimination just because of what they look like."

It's just basic human decency.- Serena Jenna

Jenna, who identifies as queer, says she's known about racism for a long time, learning about slavery and colonization in school.

"I can hide the fact that I am queer. For people who can't hide who they are it must be so much harder," said Jenna.

The teen says she learned about the death of George Floyd, Elijah McClain and Breonna Taylor in the media. This week another Black man, Jacob Blake, was shot and seriously injured by police in Wisconsin.

"Some people are scared to get out of their house to go for a cup of coffee, like we can do every day. It's disgusting," she said. 

TV show showcases systemic racism

But what spurred Jenna to take action herself was an episode of The Umbrella Academy, a Netflix superhero show involving time travel.

A Black character, who was trapped in the early 1960s, experienced acts of racism while sitting in a whites-only café, she said.

"I started crying," said Jenna, adding that she was finally realizing how long systemic racism has been going on.

She delved into the history of the Black Lives Matter movement. She said she was seven when it started.

"How come nobody told me this?" said Jenna. 

Now, she wants to inspire others to learn more about the movement and take action.

I do hope if everybody does just a little bit, hopefully the world will change.- Serena Jenna

It's not just a trend, she said, referring to how some people post about it on social media.

"They can put a hashtag BLM on a few posts and then it's like, 'OK, I'm not racist, it's fine, moving on.' But people are literally dying because of this," she said.

Jenna starts Grade 10 next week. It's part-time during the COVID-19 pandemic, so she hopes to keep up her weekly Tuesday ritual. 

For the most part, she said, feedback has been positive with only two negative encounters.

"I think [Generation] Z as a whole, generally we are really fighting for this," said Jenna.

"I'm just one person and I don't have an influence on the world ... But I do hope if everybody does just a little bit, hopefully the world will change."

For stories about the experiences of Black Canadians — from anti-Black racism to success stories within the Black community — check out Being Black in Canada, a CBC project Black Canadians can be proud of. You can read those stories here.