From a young age, all Sean Carlton-Appleton wanted to do was fit in.

As a minority in a mostly white community, Carlton-Appleton could remember experiencing the good and the bad.

“Living in Ames was like living in more of a survival instinct,” Carlton-Appleton said.

Now, Carlton-Appleton hopes to bring awareness to issues affecting the African-American community by creating a new Black Lives Matter chapter in Ames.  

His interest began after the story of Trayvon Martin’s death became national news.

“I took notice then,” Carlton-Appleton said. “I began advocating for a black cause.”

Along with advocating for black causes, Carlton-Appleton found himself involved with LGBT, Palestinian and Native American causes.

After the back-to-back deaths of Alton Sterling and Philando Castile at the hands of police officers, Carlton-Appleton found his calling.

To Carlton-Appleton, it’s about educating those who don’t understand the true intentions of the Black Lives Matter Movement and who don’t understand race relations in America.

“They get fed inaccurate information about what it is and what it is not,” Carlton-Appleton said about people who criticize the Black Lives Matter movement.

With this movement in Ames, Carlton-Appleton wants to end the misconception that white people can’t be involved in the movement and that there is a place for them.

Carlton-Appleton believes that one-on-one correspondence tends to help Americans better understand one another.

Carlton-Appleton said there are all sorts of other ways to understand people however, many people do not seek such solutions.

He knew from the beginning that the attempt to establish the movement in Ames could be difficult, but with the help of his wife, Ruth, the process has been easier.

Ruth, a permanent citizen, migrated with her family from England to Iowa and currently works for Iowa State University. As a white British citizen, she finds herself troubled by the complicated relations Americans have with one another.

She has had colleagues question her involvement in Black Lives Matter, but not once has she questioned herself about her motives.

“I gave him a list of people to contact,” she said.

The list included Reginald Stewart, vice president for diversity and inclusion; Officers Dwight Hinson and Anthony Greiter, and the Iowa State Police Department. Sean Carlton-Appleton met with Black Student Alliance and Black Graduate Student Association in hopes of gaining momentum around campus.

To reach out to the Ames community, Ruth Carlton-Appleton created a Facebook page that helped increase their momentum around the community. The couple hosted their first meeting in late 2016 at the Ames Public Library.

“First meeting there were six to eight people there,” Ruth Carlton-Appleton said.

She also said their recent meeting had grown in attendance with new and old faces. The couple hopes to see consistency in those who attend and to connect more with Iowa State students.

One of the goals Sean Carlton-Appleton has is to help bring awareness to the struggles that black students have staying in Ames post-graduation.

From word of mouth and what he’s seen, Carlton-Appleton believes the Ames community lacks in making black students feel welcomed in their community.

Other goals include having screenings of documentaries addressing race, establishing a book club involving books that addresses race and establishing a mentoring program in Ames schools to assist underprivileged and struggling students in the district.

Their biggest goal, however, is to organize and have a march in Ames.

“If you want something that’s long term and effective, you have to do something long term and effective,” Sean Carlton-Appleton said.

The next meeting for the Carlton-Appleton’s Black Lives Matter Movement will take place at 2 p.m. Saturday at the Ames Public Library.