Protesters returned to the streets of Southern California on Sunday, rolling out at least a dozen protests in Los Angeles and Orange counties — with a massive West Hollywood march topping the list.
A few thousand people here at Hollywood & Highland ready you march this morning with LA Pride in support of #BLM. pic.twitter.com/ipsVxSSODO
— David Rosenfeld (@RosenfeldReport) June 14, 2020
Expected to be the largest of the events was the All Black Lives Matter anti-racism solidarity march. At least 20,000 people gathered for the march, shutting down Hollywood Boulevard to vehicle traffic from Highland Avenue to La Brea Avenue, police said.
This weekend’s demonstrations marked nearly three weeks since the Memorial Day death of George Floyd, a black man in Minneapolis who died after a white police officer kneeled on his neck for several minutes. His death, captured on cell phone video, has spurred thousands of protests across the country and globe in the weeks since.
On Sunday, participants in the All Black Lives Matter march jammed Hollywood and Highland boulevards, the site of numerous mammoth rallies and marches in the past three weeks. A march on June 7 drew as many as 30,000 people, observers said, tying up multiple city blocks at its peak.
As public health officials continued to worry about large gatherings creating a spike in coronavirus cases, All Black Lives Matter included a tag line on the event flyer reading, “COVID-19 guidelines encouraged and enforced.”
Many in the crowd appeared to be wearing facemasks, but keeping socially distanced appeared to be difficult.
Ready Responders set up a tent at the march to offer complimentary COVID-19 testing to protesters, located near 132 Hollywood Boulevard.
On the website, organizers cited the disproportionate impact of the coronavirus on Black and LGBTQ+ communities and urged protesters to “take protective measures, including wearing face coverings and avoiding large crowds if you are at high risk or displaying symptoms of COVID-19” and provided a link to public health recommendations.
I have no idea how many people are here but I’m guessing in excess of 10,000 now maybe close to 20k. I’ve been standing in the same spot here for about 15 minutes and they keep coming. pic.twitter.com/O7KWdyVIOe
— David Rosenfeld (@RosenfeldReport) June 14, 2020
The demonstration reflected the diverse community here, with myriad gay pride rainbow flags, signs bearing a wide variety of messages and chants such as “black trans lives matter” referring to black transsexuals.
Joshan Smith, 26, wore rainbow streamers on his arms during the march. He said the time was now to confront racism.
“Show up and come out,” he said. “If you can’t be here, talk to your racist family members. Now is the time.”
In preparation for the march, a team painted “All Black Lives Matter” in block letters across the thoroughfare on Saturday. The phrase was painted in rainbow colors to represent the diversity in the LGBTQ community.
One man held a sign that said “Porn Stars for Black Lives.” He said he was drawing attention to the negative way black men are portrayed in pornography.
“Black men are only in certain categories and get reduced down to dehumanizing terms,” said the 24-year-old who goes by Kuper. “These studios really need to be held accountable.”
Marchers traveled west on Hollywood Boulevard to North La Brea Avenue, then planned to head south to Sunset Boulevard, west to North Crescent Heights Boulevard and finally, southwest on Santa Monica Boulevard to end at San Vicente Boulevard.
According to the organizers, the march aimed to “amplify Black Queer voices” and support Black Lives Matter demands to “prosecute killer cops” and “defund the police and reinvest in the community.”
The ABLM website explained that the 11 a.m. start time was chosen in honor of Tony McDade, a black trans man shot by a Tallahassee, Florida, police officer at that hour on May 27. Police say McDade was armed with a gun and suspected of fatally stabbing 21-year-old Malik Jackson.
Organizers of the 2020 LA Pride Parade, who canceled their event due to the coronavirus pandemic, said earlier this month they would hold a march in solidarity with Black Lives Matter and against police brutality and oppression. But Christopher Street West, which organizes LA Pride, failed to reach out to BLM officials or Black LGBTQ community organizers before making that announcement.
“They just kind of stepped forward too soon without checking with and getting the full endorsement and support from Black LGBTQ leaders … and organizations,” ABLM organizer Brandon Anthony told KTLA5.
CSW admitted as much in a social media post Monday, saying the group would withdraw from formal sponsorship of the anti-racism event, but stand in solidarity.
“We apologize to the Black Lives Matter organizers,” LA Pride officials wrote in their post. “Conversations did continue and grew to later include leaders from Black Lives Matter LA, and subsequently, an Advisory Board of Black LGBTQ+ leaders has formed to lead the upcoming All Black Lives Matter solidarity march.”
According to a website for the march, ablm.la, the LA Pride organizers stepped back “out of recognition and respect to the years of work and action of Black LGBTQ+ leadership and community organizers,” but would “stand unapologetically in solidarity with efforts to dismantle racial (in)justice, systemic oppression, institutional barriers, policy brutality and discrimination of all kinds.”
Elsewhere…
- Skateboarders for Justice planned to gather at Venice High and then roll to Venice Skatepark in support of Black Lives Matter.
- In Long Beach, a caravan against police brutality .
- Marchers planned to walk from the Inglewood Library to Inglewood Cemetery.
- Two separate rallies were planned in Huntington Beach at mid-day.
Meanwhile, Beverly Hills announced that it has banned most nighttime gatherings of at least 10 people in residential streets and other public places in residential areas in response to two protests that “disrupted the tranquility” of a neighborhood.
Related: Call grows for investigation into black man found hanged in Palmdale
The proclamation, issued late Saturday by City Manager George Chavez in his role as director of emergency services, came in response to a second nighttime protest in a residential area conducted by the group OCCUPY that began at 10 p.m. Friday and continued until approximately 1 a.m. Saturday, according to the proclamation.
The protest “included bullhorns and amplified music and disrupted the tranquility of the residential neighborhood during hours when many people would be ordinarily sleeping,” the proclamation said.
The order is in effect from 9 p.m. to 8 a.m., and will remain in effect until further notice. Violating the order is punishable as a misdemeanor under the Beverly Hills Municipal Code, according to the proclamation.
Assemblies that are silent, such as candlelight vigils, and gatherings on private property are exempt.
Sunday’s events followed Saturday’s varied scheduled of protests around the Southland:
- In Downtown Los Angeles, about 100 skateboarders participated in a “More Skating Less Hating” demonstration.
About a hundred skateboarders skate through #dtla to @STAPLESCenter for “More Skating Less Hating” a day of peaceful protest skating, in the wake of the #GeorgeFloyd murder. #skateboarding #LosAngelesProtest #skating #peaceful #BlackLivesMatter pic.twitter.com/CQiN52bOL8
— James F. Carbone (@saintcamera) June 13, 2020
- Dozens of people also marched through Whittier, holding signs that said, “Who polices the policemen?” and “Say their names.”
- In El Segundo, about 100 protesters gathered at Imperial Highway and Main Street, chanting, “Black lives matter,” and, “No justice, no peace.” The group marched to El Segundo City Hall.
- More than 60 demonstrators gathered at Carlton Peterson Park in Diamond Bar, where Rep. Gil Cisneros, D-Fullerton urged those gathered to use their anger at the polls in November. “We mourn the death of Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud Arbery, George Floyd,” he said. “But this isn’t about the death of one individual. It’s about centuries of racism and inequality.”
- In Echo Park, hundreds gathered to stage a “rally for black unhoused lives” march, a gathering that came on the heels of a new report that showed that black residents are four times as likely to be homeless in Los Angeles County. The report, from the Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority on Friday, showed that county’s homeless population spiked by 12.7%, from 58,936 last year to 66,433 in 2020.
City News Service contributed to this report.
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