For more than a century, the NAACP has been on the front lines of civil rights activism. And they are once again helping lead the charge to bring racial equality to the communities they serve.

This time, the organization is lending its voice and knowledge to a growing group of allies in the fight against injustice.

“We just don't want this to be a protest. We want this to be a movement, meaning what the NAACP [had] done in the past was sign up people to become members of the NAACP," said Newburgh-Highland Falls Chapter President Ray Harvey, "so we can have numbers to go in front of Congress, your state, local representatives ... to demand these changes that we need to make the community better as a whole for everyone.

“We need young folks to change the status quo of what it looks like to represent us. We need young folks to start representing us. And so, if you get organized and you do these things, then, then your voices will be heard. And we need our young folks' voices, because without our young folks, we’re lost."

Much like the civil rights movement, people are calling for change when it comes to treatment of people of color by law enforcement, with protests rising up in the wake of the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis.

“We kneeled yesterday at the protest for 8 minutes and 46 seconds," Harvey said, referencing the amount of time Floyd had a police officer's knee on his neck. "To be able to do that, you know, on somebody's neck, head, and watch the life come out of someone ... I think that really opened eyes to people that black folks ain't crazy, that this is really happening to them. I just [saw] this with my own eyes. I [saw] a man take his last breath, and he called his mother's name."

As with protests in the past, the NAACP says the best way to bring about change is to peacefully protest.

“An educated mind will always go further than burning a building down, because you can replace a building," Harvey said. "That's not going to change the policies and the procedures of the police department that we see acting out all across America.”

The organization also says younger and older generations can learn from one another. But they believe one thing is for certain: The only way change can happen is if everyone is unified.

Newburgh-Highland Chapter Secretary Melly Holloway says members are “more hopeful, because there's more people that are aware, and that are active, if the actions that are going to make the difference.”