More than 200 protest police brutality in Redondo Beach's Miramar Park
Not less than 200 people gathered at Miramar Park, in South Redondo Beach, Thursday afternoon, June 4th, to protest police brutality and demand an end to law-enforcement policies they say discriminate against black and brown communities.
The protest was organized by a group of young black women from across many South Bay cities. The organizers of the protest shared their experiences of racism and police brutality, also opened the floor for others to do the same.
Terry James, who moved from Seattle to Redondo Beach with his family, called upon allies of the black community to use their voices.
“We are the first generation of black people to be able to own homes, to be able to go to integrated schools, for me to be able to give my family the opportunities here,” James said. “But we need allies like you out here, willing to not just be vocal now, but vocal when the fervor dies down. Active with your money, with your resources, with your time, with your energy.”
It was one of many in the South Bay this week, as similar demonstrations — ranging in size, from dozens to thousands — continue unabated across the nation, including Los Angeles County, in the wake of George Floyd, a black man, being killed on Memorial Day in Minnesota when a white police officer kneeled on his neck for several minutes.
About 80 people showed up to Wednesday’s protest at the South Bay Galleria.
Protesters on Thursday all appeared to be social distancing and wearing face coverings, something health officials this week have urged to prevent further spread of the coronavirus. Many of the protesters also held signs reading “Racial justice” and “We aren’t free until we’re all free.”
The demonstrators also demanded justice for several other black people: Breonna Taylor, an emergency room technician who police fatally shot in Louisville, Kentucky, in mid-March; Sandra Bland, a 28-year-old woman who was found hanged in a jail cell in Waller County, Texas, in 2015; and Emmett Till, a 14-year-old who was lynched in Mississippi in 1955.
