Los Angeles Indymedia : Activist News

These two weeks of protests that are still spreading overseas have gone through phases of commemoration to marching to looting and arson and back to peaceful marching again. Each day had a decidedly different feel here in Los Angeles.

I started taking pictures on the 29th of May in DTLA.

It went from a small freeway shutdown to some flashbang showdowns around Broadway and 7th where actual fireworks were thrown into the street and rubber bullets found a target of at least 1 man.

The second and third nights were in the Fairfax district and downtown Santa Monica where plunder and property destruction were prevalent. In Fairfax there were some very fervent standoffs between the sign carrying activists and the LAPD.

By June 1st The National Guard appeared throughout the cities protest areas and surroundings.

The marches following this in DTLA were raucous but lawful and one sensed that the ranks had been cleansed out by those that did not want the essential message of George Floyd's death to be compromised by pillage. These marches usually ended at City Hall, however hundreds were arrested in DTLA for curfew violations. At this date the city is saying that it will not pursue charges.

During the Hollywood protest on June 7th the police presence was practically nonexistent on Hollywood Boulevard while the national guard had left earlier.

The overall protest that day in Hollywood was estimated at 20,000 people.

No significant retail plundering has been reported for that day.

Full story and photo galleries: The Los Angeles George Floyd Demonstrations by Robert Stuart Lowden

Meanwhile, in Pomona--June 12: Yesterday was an overwhelmingly emotional experience, and without any pretensions I can honestly say, a huge success. I am proud to call the small group that was able to coordinate the effort and bring massive amounts of community members—again, mostly YOUTH—out into the streets to make their discontent heard and felt.

The march began at Towne and Arrow, then proceeded down Garey to Gordon and the Pomona Police Officer’s Association. . . . The microphone was opened up to hear from members of the crowd. We centered the Black voices and the voices of youth. People spoke raw truths about their experiences with police and racism. Miranda Sheffield, a community organizer and a coordinator of the action, explained why she was running for city council: to bring community issues into the halls of power. She received a large round of applause. Jesus Sanchez passed out flyers showing the steady growth in the police department’s budget under the Sandoval regime. “Knowledge is power,” he said, “and now you all have just a little bit more knowledge.” Yesenia took the mic and urged us all to become involved in the organizations that are working for social justice in the city. I asked people to spend a few minutes introducing themselves to someone they didn’t know. “Organizing is building relationships of trust, and our relationships with one another is the source of our power,” I explained.

Next stop was the home of Mayor Tim Sandoval. “I’m with you! I’m with you!” Sandoval exclaimed. (More of his statements in the story below.) However, the mayor’s sister arrived and said something to the effect that protesters have a lot of nerve showing up here when we are “killing each other in the streets.” Many of us took that as a racist comment, and some assumed that it reflected upon the mayor himself. By that time several of the mayor’s racist neighbors had arrived and attempted to bait the crowd, who would not have any of it. Most of the neighbors, however, remained supportive. . . .

Full Story: Pomona Rally for Breonna Taylor and George Floyd Hits Police Association and Mayor's House by Benjamin Wood