Protesters against police brutality return to Huntington Beach Sunday
A diverse group of about 150 protesters rallied outside the Huntington Beach Police Department at a peaceful protest against police brutality Sunday morning.
A handful of police officers stood in the shade at the civic center as demonstrators chanted, “Black lives matter,” and waved signs, then recited the names of African Americans killed in police encounters around the country.
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BLM protest at Huntington Beach PD just getting started. About 50-75 here right now. pic.twitter.com/wTBcRSThBe
— Josh Cain (@joshpcain) June 7, 2020
Among those speaking was U.S. Rep. Harley Rouda. He talked about traveling to Montgomery, Alabama with fellow Congressman John Lewis and learning about lynchings and the Civil rights movement.
“We gotta stop looking back and saying, ‘Look at the progress we’ve made’ and instead say to ourselves, ‘Look at how much farther we must go,’ ” Rouda said.
Ryan Moose brought her 13-year-old daughter to the civic center. Moose’s sign read, “Old Jim Crow, New Jim Crow. The whole system’s got to go!”
Moose is from Long Beach. She’s been to protests all over the L.A. area.
“I was feeling hopeless, that nothing would change,” she said, noting protests that escalated into scuffles with police. Sunday’s peaceful demonstration made her feel better. “These make you feel like change is possible, and that change is coming,” Moose said.
Cheri Atkinson, 73, has lived in Huntington Beach for years. The Boston native said she attended protests against the Vietnam War in the 70s.
On Sunday, she described attending the protest at the Huntington Beach pier on Saturday. She was dismayed at what she saw — counter-protesters yelling at peaceful protesters railing against injustice.
“There was a whole group of lovely young people just sitting on the ground,” Atkinson said. “Another group had bullhorns and was just trying to antagonize them.”
Another group of protesters returned to the Huntington Beach pier on Sunday.
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Randy Wright was one of the organizers of the Civic Center protest. He said he’d never organized a protest before last week.
The Huntington Beach resident said he was surprised by the turnout Sunday — protesters both young and old showed up.
“I think this is the silent majority,” Wright said, playing off President Richard Nixon’s famous description of suburban whites who disapproved of protests in the 1960s.
“These people were scared to voice their opinions about police brutality,” he said. “People were angry this week, and we want to channel that anger into something good.”
Brittany Gotschow, 25, from Fountain Valley, attended the pier protest with her husband and their shibu inu mix, who lazily yawned in a wagon while his owners chanted with the other demonstrators.
The recent Cal State Long Beach graduate said she was getting frustrated while social distancing at home watching others protest police brutality.
“We really wanted to be out here and do something and make a difference,” she said. “It’s not enough to post on social media.”
While protesters and counter-protesters met for a second time near the pier Saturday, unlike the previous weekend, no pepper balls were fired at demonstrators and the event, though tense at times, was largely peaceful.
About 300 protesters speaking out against police brutality gathered mostly in the intersection of Pacific Coast Highway and Main Street Saturday but were quickly met by counter-protesters who stood on Main Street near the shops and restaurants.
A line of police officers stood between both groups in the intersection.
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Justin Frazier of Orange, one of the organizers, said on Saturday he picked Huntington Beach because it was the only area in the county that was met with resistance.
“In other cities, we get peace. For some reason, when we come to Huntington Beach (to say) that black lives matter, it’s met by force,” said Frazier, 25. “We don’t want to have a standoff with them. We want them to understand where we come from.”
Saturday’s eight-hour demonstration did include a scuffle between the two groups at one point. Police arrested nine people.
The demonstration was one of about a dozen that took place in Orange County Saturday, as people continued to peacefully protest police brutality in the wake of the death of George Floyd, who died May 25 Minneapolis after being restrained by an officer who held his knee on Floyd’s neck as he gasped for air and said he couldn’t breathe.
The officer, Derek Chauvin, has been charged with second-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter. Three other officers who were present have been charged with aiding and abetting.