National

Latest on Baltimore Protests: Thousands March Across U.S.

Published

11 years ago

May 2, 2015

A protester walks outside of police barricades during a march in New York, Friday, May 1, 2015. About 1,000 protesters decrying police brutality marched in Manhattan at a May Day rally that took on a new message amid national outrage over a Baltimore man’s death in police custody. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)

via ASSOCIATED PRESS

1:50 a.m. (EDT)

Police in Portland, Oregon, say an initially peaceful May Day demonstration turned violent Friday evening as a splinter group hurled chairs and other objects at officers. Police temporarily closed a major city bridge and used pepper spray on some demonstrators when a march deviated from its permitted route through downtown.

Police said one officer was injured and taken to a precinct for medical treatment.

The Burnside Bridge over the Willamette River was closed for about a half-hour during the height of the evening commute when protesters tried to force their way across.

The protest caused major delays for commuters.

The Oregonian reported that about 100 protesters also skirmished with police at the Pioneer Courthouse Square, surrounding an unmarked SUV with officers inside. Bicycle officers created a path for the SUV to leave the scene. Police say they used flash grenades to allow officers to safely withdraw from the crowd. The crowd broke up a short time later.

Earlier in the day, hundreds took to the streets to celebrate International Workers’ Day and protest police violence.

11:17 p.m. (EDT)

Police say black-clad May Day marchers hurled wrenches and rocks at officers and hit police with sticks as a Friday evening march through a Seattle neighborhood turned violent, injuring three officers.

Police responded with pepper spray and pepper balls, quickly arresting three people. That brought the day’s Seattle demonstration arrest total to four.

Bicycle officers shadowed the marchers, who changed direction often. Their evening event had been billed as an anti-capitalist march.

Hundreds of people earlier joined in May Day marches in Seattle and Yakima, Washington, in support of workers’ rights and other causes.

Police said the earlier arrest came when a man threw a rock at a window.

The initial Seattle march ended with a rally at the downtown federal courthouse.

In the central Washington city of Yakima, a crowd of at least 500 marchers called for increased attention to immigrant and worker rights

10:40 p.m. (EDT)

Police in Portland, Oregon, say an increasingly unruly May Day crowd hurled projectiles and chairs at officers Friday evening. Earlier, police temporarily closed a major city bridge and used pepper spray on some demonstrators when a march deviated from its permitted route through downtown.

Police said one officer was assaulted and injured and taken to a precinct for medical treatment.

The Burnside Bridge over the Willamette River was closed about 5:30 p.m. during the height of the evening commute. It later reopened.

Hundreds of protesters were reported in the evening crowd.

Earlier in the day, hundreds took to the streets to celebrate International Workers’ Day and protest police violence.

___

10:10 p.m. (EDT)

Hundreds of people have joined in annual May Day marches in Seattle and Yakima, Washington, in support of workers’ rights and other causes.

By early Friday evening in Seattle, the focus shifted from an earlier march and rally in support workers and immigrant rights to a new march by a couple hundred black-clad protesters on the move in the city’s Capitol Hill neighborhood. Police on bicycles shadowed that march, which had been billed as an anti-capitalist gathering.

Police tweeted that many of the evening protesters were carrying wrenches.

By late afternoon, Seattle police said they had arrested one man for throwing a rock at a window.

The earlier Seattle march drew hundreds of people and ended with a rally at the downtown federal courthouse.

May Day in Seattle started with A Black Lives Matter gathering. Many of those marchers later joined the immigrant rights event.

In the central Washington city of Yakima, a crowd of at least 500 marchers called for increased attention to immigrant and worker rights

___

9:15 p.m. (EDT)

About 1,000 protesters decrying police brutality have marched in downtown New York at a May Day rally that took on a new message amid national outrage over a Baltimore man’s death in police custody.

Demonstrators streamed through blocked-off streets, bearing signs with such messages as “Disarm the NYPD” and “Justice for Freddie Gray,” the 25-year-old who died in Baltimore.

At least one man was arrested after he tried to jump over a police barricade, but the procession generally went calmly.

After the march reached its scheduled end at a lower Manhattan plaza, tensions flared as some protesters continued marching on nearby streets. As police used a loudspeaker to order the demonstrators to get onto the sidewalk, some protesters shouted back.

Some activists and officials had criticized the New York Police Department’s handling of protests Wednesday over Gray’s death. They say police were overly aggressive while arresting more than 140 people when some demonstrators splintered off, trying to get on a highway and block tunnel entrances.

___

9:09 p.m. (EDT)

Hundreds of people marched in Seattle for the annual May Day March for Workers and Immigrant Rights — part of several gatherings in the city on Friday.

Seattle police say they arrested one person late Friday afternoon for throwing a rock at a window. They say the man was carrying a machete, paint and a wrench.

A Black Lives Matter Event drew dozens who marched through parts of the city, accompanied by a large police escort, on their way to join the immigrant rights event.

Marchers made their way to the downtown federal courthouse for an evening rally.

Police also were prepared for a planned evening protest that’s been billed as an anti-capitalist march.

A May Day rally was also planned Friday evening in Yakima.

8:15 p.m. (EDT)

The May Day protest outside Oakland’s City Hall has swelled to more than a thousand people — one of several demonstrations by labor, immigrant and civil rights activists in cities across California.

The protesters are decrying racism, police brutality and income inequality in a loud, sign-waving march from the Port of Oakland to Frank Ogawa Plaza in downtown Oakland.

Some of the demonstrators are holding signs reading “Racism is the Disease,” ”Black Lives Matter” and “Stop Police Brutality.” Others say they want better wages and working conditions for the masses.

Across the bay, about 100 people gathered at Civic Center in San Francisco for a May Day rally before marching to the Mission neighborhood.

The annual May Day rallies have their roots in workers’ rights, but events in recent years have been a rallying point for immigrant-rights groups and other causes.

___

6 p.m. (EDT)

About 400 people have marched in Chicago, some to protest recent police shootings and some to recognize May Day’s message of workers’ rights.

Seventy-three-year-old activist Richard Malmin says he participates every year but that this rally is bigger due to the death of Freddie Gray, whose spine was severed while in Baltimore police custody last month. Activists added anti-police brutality to their messages.

Dozens of Seattle protesters at a Black Lives Matter event joined hundreds who gathered for workers’ and immigrants’ rights. About 1,000 are marching in Manhattan.

High school students who walked out of school are among hundreds who marched downtown in Minneapolis, protesting Freddie Gray’s case and in support of Black Lives Matter members who appeared at a hearing related to December arrests.

___

4:30 p.m. (EDT)

A protest in Denver that drew about 25 people has kept its focus on inequality rather than police brutality issues that several other protests around the country planned to rally against.

Demonstrator David Garner says he’s concerned about economic inequality, especially for people of color. May Day is historically a day where labor supporters rally for workers’ rights.

Friday’s protest near the state Capitol had been mostly peaceful unlike Wednesday night when Denver police arrested 11 people during a demonstration over the death of Freddie Gray. Gray died after his spine had been severed while in Baltimore police custody. Charges against six officers were announced Friday.

New York City union and immigration activists are planning to gather in Union Square to join Freddie Gray protesters to march in solidarity.

___

2:30 p.m. (EDT)

Some parents are bringing their children to protests in Chicago, using it as a teaching tool on how to perceive police officers.

Meredith West was informing her 9-year-old daughter that when encountering a police officer, she should stay calm and keep still.

The mother and daughter had joined a couple dozen families on Friday who marched on Chicago’s West Side, protesting police brutality.

One 8-year-old had told the Associated Press that police officers are there to protect people, not hurt them.

In New York, police have asked demonstrators from labor and immigrant rights groups to work with them ahead of planned protests.

The San Jose Mercury News reports that hundreds in California who marched to City Hall in Oakland were mostly peaceful. Other protests are planned in several California towns.

___

12:30 p.m. (EDT)

A group of Chicago protesters has demanded an end to police brutality in support of Freddie Gray, who died after his spine was severed while in police custody in Baltimore last month.

Many demonstrators were carrying signs that read: “Police Brutality Must Stop.” They were marching Friday around a fountain on the city’s West Side.

In California, crowds were just starting to gather for a rally at an Oakland train station. Labor, immigrant and civil rights activists in several California cities are expected to call for civil rights and an end to police brutality. Protests are planned for San Francisco, Los Angeles, Anaheim and Riverside County.

___

11 a.m. (EDT)

Activists across the United States are gearing up for marches and protests to mark May Day and plan to broaden their message to include issues of police brutality.

Events are being held Friday in cities like New York, Denver, Seattle, Chicago and Portland, Oregon.

May Day has historically been a day when demonstrators rooted deeply in the labor movement call for workers’ rights. But in recent years, immigration reform and civil rights issues have been adopted.

This year, marches are planned in support of “Black Lives Matter,” a growing movement in the wake of a series of deaths of black men during police encounters. Protests in Philadelphia and Baltimore on Thursday were in support of Freddie Gray, who died a week after police took him into custody.

###

Reporter II

Posts by Reporter II

Up Next

Latest on Baltimore Protests: Thousands March Across U.S.

Don't Miss

Rebuilt Slave Sites Being Unveiled at Jefferson’s Monticello

Reporter II

Click to comment

#NNPA BlackPress

COMMENTARY: The National Protest Must Be Accompanied with Our Votes

Just as Trump is gathering election data like having the FBI take all the election data in Georgia from the 2020 election, so must we organize in preparation for the coming primary season to have the right people on ballots in each Republican district, so that we can regain control of the House of Representatives and by doing so, restore the separation of powers and balance that our democracy is being deprived of.

Published

3 days ago

February 10, 2026

Oakland Post

Dr. John E. Warren, Publisher San Diego Voice & Viewpoint Newspaper. File photo..

By Dr. John E. Warren, Publisher San Diego Voice & Viewpoint Newspaper

As thousands of Americans march every week in cities across this great nation, it must be remembered that the protest without the vote is of no concern to Donald Trump and his administration.

In every city, there is a personal connection to the U.S. Congress. In too many cases, the member of Congress representing the people of that city and the congressional district in which it sits, is a Republican. It is the Republicans who are giving silent support to the destructive actions of those persons like the U.S. Attorney General, the Director of Homeland Security, and the National Intelligence Director, who are carrying out the revenge campaign of the President rather than upholding the oath of office each of them took “to Defend The Constitution of the United States.”

In California, the primary comes in June 2026. The congressional races must be a priority just as much as the local election of people has been so important in keeping ICE from acquiring facilities to build more prisons around the country.

“We the People” are winning this battle, even though it might not look like it. Each of us must get involved now, right where we are.

In this Black History month, it is important to remember that all we have accomplished in this nation has been “in spite of” and not “because of.” Frederick Douglas said, “Power concedes nothing without a struggle.”

Today, the struggle is to maintain our very institutions and history. Our strength in this struggle rests in our “collectiveness.” Our newspapers and journalists are at the greatest risk. We must not personally add to the attack by ignoring those who have been our very foundation, our Black press.

Are you spending your dollars this Black History Month with those who salute and honor contributions by supporting those who tell our stories? Remember that silence is the same as consent and support for the opposition. Where do you stand and where will your dollars go?

Oakland Post

Posts by Oakland Post

Activism

Congresswoman Simon Votes Against Department of Homeland Security, ICE Funding

“They need accountability. Republicans already gave these agencies an unprecedented $170 billion for immigration enforcement, funding they have used to conduct raids at schools, separate families, and deploy a masked paramilitary who refuse to identify themselves on American streets. This bill gives them more funding without a single reform to stop unconstitutional, immoral abuses,” she said.

Published

3 days ago

February 10, 2026

Oakland Post

Congresswoman Lateefah Simon (D-CA-12). File photo.

By Post Staff

Congresswoman Lateefah Simon (D-CA-12) released a statement after voting against legislation to fund the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), which supports Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CPB).

“Today, I voted NO on legislation to fund the Department of Homeland Security through Feb. 13, 2026.

“ICE and CBP do not need more funding to terrorize communities or kill more people,” she said in the media release.

“They need accountability. Republicans already gave these agencies an unprecedented $170 billion for immigration enforcement, funding they have used to conduct raids at schools, separate families, and deploy a masked paramilitary who refuse to identify themselves on American streets. This bill gives them more funding without a single reform to stop unconstitutional, immoral abuses,” she said.

“The American people are demanding change. Poll after poll of Americans’ opinions show overwhelming support for requiring ICE agents to wear body cameras and prohibiting them from hiding their faces during enforcement actions. This is the bare minimum transparency standard, and this funding legislation does not even meet this low bar,” Simon said.

“Republicans in Congress are not serious about reining in these lawless agencies. Their refusal to make meaningful changes to the DHS funding bill has consequences that go beyond immigration enforcement. TSA agents who keep our airports safe and FEMA workers who help our communities recover from disasters are stuck in limbo due to Republican inaction.

“The Constitution does not have an exception for immigrants. Every person on American soil has rights, and federal agencies must respect them. The East Bay has made clear at the Alameda County and city level that we will hold the line against a violent ICE force and support our immigrant communities – I will continue to hold the line and our values with my votes in Congress.”

Oakland Post

Posts by Oakland Post

Activism

Post Newspaper Invites NNPA to Join Nationwide Probate Reform Initiative

The Post’s Probate Reform Group meets the first Thursday of every month via Zoom and invites the public to attend. The Post is making the initiative national and will submit information from its monthly meeting to the NNPA to educate, advocate, and inform its readers.

Published

3 days ago

February 10, 2026

Oakland Post

iStock.

By Tanya Dennis

The National Newspaper Publishers Association (NNPA) represents the Black press with over 200 newspapers nationwide.

Last night the Post announced that it is actively recruiting the Black press to inform the public that there is a probate “five-alarm fire” occurring in Black communities and invited every Black newspaper starting from the Birmingham Times in Alabama to the Milwaukee Times Weekly in Wisconsin, to join the Post in our “Year of Action” for probate reform.

Reporter Tanya Dennis says, “The adage that ‘When America catches a cold, Black folks catch the flu” is too true in practice; that’s why we’re engaging the Black Press to not only warn, but educate the Black community regarding the criminal actions we see in probate court: Thousands are losing generational wealth to strangers. It’s a travesty that happens daily.”

Venus Gist, a co-host of the reform group, states, “ Unfortunately, people are their own worst enemy when it comes to speaking with loved ones regarding their demise. It’s an uncomfortable subject that most avoid, but they do so at their peril. The courts rely on dissention between family members, so I encourage not only a will and trust [be created] but also videotape the reading of your documents so you can show you’re of sound mind.”

In better times, drafting a will was enough; then a trust was an added requirement to ‘iron-clad’ documents and to assure easy transference of wealth.

No longer.

As the courts became underfunded in the last 20 years, predatory behavior emerged to the extent that criminality is now occurring at alarming rates with no oversight, with courts isolating the conserved, and, I’ve heard, many times killing conservatees for profit. Plundering the assets of estates until beneficiaries are penniless is also common.”

Post Newspaper Publisher Paul Cobb says, “The simple solution is to avoid probate at all costs. If beneficiaries can’t agree, hire a private mediator and attorney to work things out. The moment you walk into court, you are vulnerable to the whims of the court. Your will and trust mean nothing.”

Zakiya Jendayi, a co-host of the Probate Reform Group and a victim herself, says, “In my case, the will and trust were clear that I am the beneficiary of the estate, but the opposing attorney said I used undue influence to make myself beneficiary. He said that without proof, and the judge upheld the attorney’s baseless assertion. In court, the will and trust is easily discounted.”

The Black press reaches out to 47 million Black Americans with one voice. The power of the press has never been so important as it is now in this national movement to save Black generational wealth from predatory attorneys, guardians and judges.

The next probate reform meeting is on March 5, from 7 – 9 p.m. PST. Zoom Details:
Meeting ID: 825 0367 1750
Passcode: 475480

All are welcome.