OAKLAND (CBS SF) — Black women activists and community leaders in Oakland rallied in front of a mural memorializing Breonna Taylor Thursday as more activists called for action demanding justice for the victim in the fatal Louisville police shooting, including a car caravan to slow traffic on Bay Area bridges at 5 p.m.
It was a powerful meeting of black women with a message: it is time to value, respect and protect them. The group gathered in front of the Breonna Taylor mural at 15th and Broadway in Oakland. They gave speeches and read poetry as they called attention to the plight many black females face, including disproportionate rates of unemployment, evictions and arrests.
They said what happened to Taylor — who was fatally shot by Louisville police officers during a March 13 raid on her apartment — is a symptom of a larger paradigm within which black women and girls are neither respected nor protected by our current government or society.
“We have power. I ain’t talking about something we have to go make up! We need to exercise it! Find you a battlefield and stand on it,” said Director of Omi Arts Ashara Ekandayo.
They said allies of other races need to stand up and fight with them or be considered complicit in the crimes against black people.
The protest in Oakland is the latest in a number of demonstrations and marches that were organized around the Bay Area in reaction to the Wednesday decision by a Louisville grand jury not to charge any of the three officers involved in the fatal shooting of Taylor. Only one, former officer Brett Hankison, was indicted on three counts of wanton endangerment. But he and the two other officers who opened fire were not charged in relation to Taylor’s death.
The largest protest in the Bay Area was in Oakland, where hundreds of demonstrators peacefully gathered around Lake Merritt before marching to Oakland City Hall to protest the grand jury’s decision.
A group of protesters gathered at Lake Merritt and have now moved to #Oakland City Hall. pic.twitter.com/IPasoipCQO
— Andrea Nakano (@AndreaKPIX) September 24, 2020
One group of protesters moved onto a ramp on Interstate 980, but got off the highway a short time later before moving on to protest at the Oakland Police Department headquarters. There were additional demonstrations in San Jose and San Francisco Wednesday evening.
Wednesday night’s crowd was not as large as past protests but officials with the city of Oakland are expecting demonstrations over the next few days.
One group of activists is calling for go-slow car caravans on three Bay Area bridges early Thursday evening, according to social media posts by the group resistancesf.
Call for Breonna Taylor Bay Area bridge protests (Facebook)
The group is calling on drivers to head to the Golden Gate Bridge, Bay Bridge and Dumbarton Bride at 5 p.m. to slow down traffic and create gridlock to show outrage over the Kentucky grand jury’s failure to charge officers in the fatal shooting of Taylor. So far, there has been no word from authorities as far as any plans to monitor or discourage the freeway protest.
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Women Gather For Oakland Breonna Taylor Demonstration; Bay Area Bridge Protests Planned - CBS San Francisco
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