More Than 1,000 Gather in Oakland to Protest
By Rebecca Parr, rparr@bayareanewsgroup.com
12/13/14, 5:30 PM PST
By Rebecca Parr
rparr@bayareanewsgroup.cpm
OAKLAND -- A crowd estimated at more than 1,000 people gathered in downtown Oakland on Saturday to peacefully protest the recent deaths of unarmed black men by white police officers.
"We are not standing around and doing nothing," said Chinasa Ozoni, of San Francisco, one of the organizers of the rally that began at Frank Ogawa Plaza. A mixture of sadness and rage motived her and others to organize the protest. The rally quickly grew as word spread on social media.
"We want a more equitable society," Ozoni said. "The amount of bodies here should let people know we have had enough."
An earlier #blacklivesmatter" protest at Sproul Plaza at UC Berkeley drew hundreds, many of whom then joined the larger Oakland gathering.
"I'm outraged by both the killing of black people and the violence against students," said graduate student Brittany Meche.
"We want to disrupt business as usual. We want to elevate the point that black lives matter," said Myles Satifer of the Black Student Union, which organized the peaceful rally.
"We want people to stop in their tracks and think about what's happening," the third-year Cal student said.
Leaders at both rallies stressed their protests were peaceful and warned against property damage.
"That's not what we're about," one speaker told the Berkeley crowd.
Moni Law, a UC Berkeley alumna, said she came to the rally as a mother of a black son.
"I fear for my own son. Our sons and daughters are being killed," she said.
The rallies were part of the national Day of Anger Rallies were held throughout the country, including New York, San Francisco and Washington, D.C.
Signs at the rallies read "Black Lives Matter" and "Stop Police Brutality."
"This is where I'm supposed to be, fighting for our children. That's what we do," said Monika Brooks, president of the Zeta Phi Beta sorority in Stockton. "This gives the young people an opportunity to show their voices make a difference."
Police stayed back from the crowd at the Oakland rally, watching from almost a block away. Above, a helicopter hovered. Police provided traffic control for the marchers at the Oakland and Berkeley demonstrations.
"This is about our community being pushed down over and over and nobody does everything. We slept for too long," said Sheila Dawkins at the Oakland rally.
Protesters stretched out for blocks as they walked to the Alameda County courthouse chanting slogans such as "No justice, no peace, no racist police." Along the way, many people watching cheered as the group walked past. On one corner, a group of Asian-Americans held up homemade signs in support of the protesters. Protesters clapped and waved back.
"This is about our community being pushed down over and over and nobody does everything. We slept for too long," Sheila Dawkins said.
Earlier Saturday, three effigies of African-Americans hanging from a noose were found on the UC Berkeley campus before the rally.
The cardboard cutouts had the names of historical lynching victims and the date. It's unclear if the effigies were placed by people supporting the protests as a political statement or from a group opposing the protests.
Contact Rebecca Parr at 510-293-2473 or follow her at Twitter.com/rdparr1.
 |
| Anti-racist demonstration in Oakland, California on Dec. 13, 2014. |
12/13/14, 5:30 PM PST
By Rebecca Parr
rparr@bayareanewsgroup.cpm
OAKLAND -- A crowd estimated at more than 1,000 people gathered in downtown Oakland on Saturday to peacefully protest the recent deaths of unarmed black men by white police officers.
"We are not standing around and doing nothing," said Chinasa Ozoni, of San Francisco, one of the organizers of the rally that began at Frank Ogawa Plaza. A mixture of sadness and rage motived her and others to organize the protest. The rally quickly grew as word spread on social media.
"We want a more equitable society," Ozoni said. "The amount of bodies here should let people know we have had enough."
An earlier #blacklivesmatter" protest at Sproul Plaza at UC Berkeley drew hundreds, many of whom then joined the larger Oakland gathering.
"I'm outraged by both the killing of black people and the violence against students," said graduate student Brittany Meche.
"We want to disrupt business as usual. We want to elevate the point that black lives matter," said Myles Satifer of the Black Student Union, which organized the peaceful rally.
"We want people to stop in their tracks and think about what's happening," the third-year Cal student said.
Leaders at both rallies stressed their protests were peaceful and warned against property damage.
"That's not what we're about," one speaker told the Berkeley crowd.
Moni Law, a UC Berkeley alumna, said she came to the rally as a mother of a black son.
"I fear for my own son. Our sons and daughters are being killed," she said.
The rallies were part of the national Day of Anger Rallies were held throughout the country, including New York, San Francisco and Washington, D.C.
Signs at the rallies read "Black Lives Matter" and "Stop Police Brutality."
"This is where I'm supposed to be, fighting for our children. That's what we do," said Monika Brooks, president of the Zeta Phi Beta sorority in Stockton. "This gives the young people an opportunity to show their voices make a difference."
Police stayed back from the crowd at the Oakland rally, watching from almost a block away. Above, a helicopter hovered. Police provided traffic control for the marchers at the Oakland and Berkeley demonstrations.
"This is about our community being pushed down over and over and nobody does everything. We slept for too long," said Sheila Dawkins at the Oakland rally.
Protesters stretched out for blocks as they walked to the Alameda County courthouse chanting slogans such as "No justice, no peace, no racist police." Along the way, many people watching cheered as the group walked past. On one corner, a group of Asian-Americans held up homemade signs in support of the protesters. Protesters clapped and waved back.
"This is about our community being pushed down over and over and nobody does everything. We slept for too long," Sheila Dawkins said.
Earlier Saturday, three effigies of African-Americans hanging from a noose were found on the UC Berkeley campus before the rally.
The cardboard cutouts had the names of historical lynching victims and the date. It's unclear if the effigies were placed by people supporting the protests as a political statement or from a group opposing the protests.
Contact Rebecca Parr at 510-293-2473 or follow her at Twitter.com/rdparr1.
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