For many people, last year’s protests and uprisings against police brutality and other forms of systemic racism were a catalyst for their own awareness and acknowledgement of these problems. It was the killing of George Floyd, specifically — he died during an arrest in Minneapolis, Minn., when a police officer knelt on his neck for more than eight minutes, for allegedly using a counterfeit $20 bill — that led to an increased interest in understanding and fighting systemic racism, and recognizing the need for more active allyship supporting Black people.
For La Jolla couple Mary Wescott and Tom Gegax, Floyd’s death served as a significant spark in their anti-racism journey. Wescott and Gegax, who have a home in Minneapolis not far from where Floyd was killed, got out and protested. They came across other like-minded friends and people along the way, and got everyone together to create the 33-minute documentary “Spark: A Systemic Racism Story.”