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'There's more to do' | Local protest organizers talk impact and the future

Denicia Lofton and Trevor King spearheaded protests last week with hundreds in attendance. Now, they are looking to do more.

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — If you went to the protest at World's Fair Park or the one in Oak Ridge, you may have met Denicia Lofton or Trevor King.

"The first thing I said was thank you to the crowd," King said. 

Both organized each demonstration and both said it started with a passion.

"I wanted to do something that would leave a lasting impression on my community," Lofton said. 

Lofton is 22 years old, a new UT grad and tired of injustice.

"Systematic racism and all the wrong doings," she said. 

According to her, Friday's protest downtown brought out more than a thousand people. It also fell on Breonna Taylor's 27th birthday.

"I feel like that was god telling me you really should be doing this and on this day to honor her," she said. 

However, the day didn't come without some stress that she made an effort to overcome. 

"In the planning of the protest there were threats like from Nazis and I almost let my fear stop me," Lofton said. 

She didn't stop. She went on with the protest. 

"Often times we think we think we're too small to do something big, but I wanted to show others that you can do something," she said. 

Trevor King felt that same calling. He organized last week's peaceful protest in Oak Ridge.

"It brought our community much closer together," he said. 

Though it brought hundreds of people together for a difficult conversation, it's not the end.

"I want to see a big change and actually make a difference it's not just the protest something, we've got to do something different," King said. 

For Trevor, it was the dawn of something new.

"This was the start this is the eye opener," he said. 

Whether it's inspiring communities to speak up, or lowering childbirth mortality rates among black women.

"My dream job is to become an OBGYN," Lofton said. 

Both King and Lofton believe there is more to do and they plan to do it.

"There's definitely gonna be a change coming," King said. 

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