Kids Issue 2018: Every living thing has rights!

TREE OF LIFE: Rainbow Community School sixth-grader Ingrid McCaffrey drew this colorful work that urges people to take care of all living things.

Editor’s note: This essay and artwork are part of a series of posts from Part I of Xpress’ annual Kids Issue, which features the art and writing of local K-12 students. This year, we asked kids and teens to address the theme of “Let’s fix it!”

Hispanic rights: Many Hispanics around the world are treated unfairly and have no freedom, such as people from Mexico, Cuba, Colombia and Spain. The Hispanic-American civil rights movement may not be as dramatic as the African-American civil rights movement, but the Hispanic-American civil rights movement matters, too. Young immigrants put themselves at risk at the U.S border to stand up for each other. We the people shall never forget about people who have been deported and do not have freedom anymore.

Black rights: Black leaders are counting on the rage and pain of the protesters to create a new civil rights movement. Black people aren’t asking for something big, they are asking for something simple. They just want to be treated the same as the whites and not be judged for being black. In today’s society, blacks and whites have equal rights as dedicated by the law. It is just that they are treated unfairly. Black lives matter!

Animal rights: Did you know that there is a dog meat festival in Asia? The dog meat festival isn’t liked by everyone. About 11 million people signed to end the dog meat festival. Every animal has the right to live as long as they want. Many dogs have been kidnapped because the people who created the dog meat festival are animal traders. People have rescued about 500 dogs that were going to get killed. About 30 million dogs are killed in Asia every year for their meat. More than one-third of those dogs are from China, animal rights supporters say. Thousands of dogs will be killed for the festival, which starts June 21.

How to help: Don’t treat people based on how they look or who they are; respect them. Take away kill shelters for animals and instead make no-kill shelters. Stick up for every living thing instead of bringing them down and care for everyone, even if it’s an animal.

In conclusion, everything has rights, and everybody matters.

— Sophia G. Gonzalez
Fifth grade
Oakley Elementary School

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