Protesters – chained together – blocked the intersection of Lakeshore and Lake Park for two hours Friday evening. – Photo: Brooke Anderson
by Jonathan Nack
Oakland – Hundreds of protesters occupied the intersection at Lakeshore Avenue and Lake Park Avenue in the Lake Merritt area of Oakland on Friday, June 12.
Protesters surrounded a group of 12 who had chained themselves to each other and sat down in the middle of the intersection. The protesters held the intersection for two hours before marching in the street for another two hours.
Protesters called for justice for Demouria Hogg, who was killed by Oakland police on Saturday, June 6, and for justice for all those whose lives have been stolen by racist policing.
The protesters defied Oakland Mayor Libby Schaff’s ban on protesting in the street and protesting after dark. OPD was out in force but stayed back from the large, nonviolent crowd and re-routed traffic. The protest began with a vigil at 6 p.m. and ended around 10 p.m.
Jonathan Nack, an Oakland-based journalist and activist, can be reached at jnack@igc.org.
The protesters’ sound truck led the march, carrying Demouria Hogg’s family, including his children, and close friends. – Photo: Daniela KantorováThis child, who would have been a baby when Oscar Grant was murdered by police on New Year’s Day 2009, has grown up surrounded by protests against police terrorism. – Photo: Daniela KantorováOPD accomplices pass the Martin Luther King mural. The vehicle on the right is OPD’s LRAD (Long Distance Acoustic Device, or sound cannon) truck, geared to emit a literally ear-splitting sound that can rupture eardrums, force people off-balance and cause nausea. In this protest, it was used mostly as a loudspeaker, repeatedly emitting a message that went something like this: We’re here to facilitate your march. Your First Amendment rights will be protected. But in response to property damage or other violence, including graffiti and vandalism, you risk arrest or bodily harm. – Photo: Daniela KantorováDanza Azteca brought spiritual power and Black-Brown solidarity to the march for justice for Oakland police murder victim Demouria Hogg. – Photo: Daniela Kantorová
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