Protesters gathered in Los Angeles Saturday at the storied intersection of Hollywood Blvd. and Vine Street to express their outrage at the killing of George Floyd by Minneapolis police.
The protest began at noon and quickly attracted hundreds of protesters and halted traffic at the center of Hollywood before marching south down Vine Street. The demonstrators chanted expletives about President Trump and called for his resignation.
“I’m here for people I know personally who have been brutalized by police,” said Adrienne Smith of Los Angeles. Ms. Smith, a Baltimore native, said she doesn’t want people living in fear of the police.
Concerns about the coronavirus had played a part at keeping her away until now. “This is more important,” she said, adding, “it’s ironic we have to fight for our lives in the middle of a pandemic.”
Early on in the protest the police maintained a distance from the crowd. There were some National Guardsmen scattered about and helicopters circling overhead.
Johanna Moran held a sign that read “Latinas for Black Lives Matter” and spent the last several days educating herself on issues of race and American history.
“I want this to be a long-term goal to end racism and police brutality.” She acknowledged racism in her own family toward black people. “It starts with black lives because they have been getting oppressed for hundreds of years. And as my parents, they looked as foreigners and they feel threatened by black people, which I am trying to eliminate at all costs because there’s not multiple races, there’s one and it’s the human race.”
At one point, most protesters dropped to their knees and began chanting “George Floyd, Enough is Enough.”
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