Coco Gauff Delivers Powerful Speech at Florida Protest: 'I Demand Change Now'

Tennis star Coco Gauff is only 16 years old, but she's already using her voice to speak out about racial injustice and encourage people to vote.

Gauff delivered a powerful speech during a peaceful Black Lives Matter demonstration in her hometown of Delray Beach, Fla., amid ongoing protests in the wake of the death of George Floyd—a 46-year-old black man who was killed in Minneapolis last week after being violently apprehended by police.

"I think it's sad that I'm here protesting the same thing that [my grandmother] did 50-plus years ago," Gauff said. "So I'm here to tell you guys that we must first love each other no matter what. We must have the tough conversations with our friends. I've been spending all week having tough conversations, trying to educate my nonblack friends on how they can help the movement. Second, we need to take action."

Although too young to vote, Gauff stressed to the crowd the importance of doing so to impact the nation's future.

"Yes, we're all out here protesting, and I'm not of age to vote, and it's in your hands to vote for my future, my brother's future and for your future," Gauff said. "So that's one way to make change."

Gauff added: "Third, you need to use your voice, no matter how big or small your platform is, you need to use your voice. I saw a Dr. [Martin Luther] King quote that said, 'The silence of the good people is worse than the brutality of the bad people.' So, you need to not be silent. If you are choosing silence, you're choosing the side of the oppressor.

"If you listen to black music, if you like black culture, if you have black friends, then this is your fight too. I demand change now."

The young tennis sensation has been using her platform to raise awareness of the Black Lives Matter campaign. After Roger Federer posted a black square on Twitter observing Blackout Tuesday, Gauff responded with a list of petitions to sign, links to donation drives and other resources.

Gauff is among a long list of athletes who have spoken out on the killing of Floyd. Four Minneapolis police officers were fired last week after a video showed one of them kneeling on the neck of Floyd, despite his cries that he could not breathe.

Last Friday, Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin, who was seen on video kneeling on Floyd's neck, was fired and then arrested on charges of third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter. On Wednesday afternoon, the murder charge against Chauvin was also elevated to second-degree murder.

It was also announced Wednesday that former officers Tou Thao, Thomas Lane and J. Alexander Kueng are facing charges of aiding and abetting murder.

Gauff ended her speech by reminding listeners of other high-profile killings of black people at the hands of police and otherwise.

"This is about Trayvon Martin. This is about Eric Garner. This is about Breonna Taylor. This is about stuff that's been happening," Gauff said at the end of her speech. "I was eight years old when Trayvon Martin was killed. So why am I here at 16 still demanding change?

"It breaks my heart because I'm fighting for the future of my brothers. I'm fighting for the future of my future kids. I'm fighting for the future of my future grandchildren."