Connect with us

National

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

Published

on

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)

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.

Copyright 2015 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

###

Continue Reading
Click to comment

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Activism

Oakland Post: Week of April 17 – 23, 2024

The printed Weekly Edition of the Oakland Post: Week of April 17 – 23, 2024

Published

on

To enlarge your view of this issue, use the slider, magnifying glass icon or full page icon in the lower right corner of the browser window.

Continue Reading

Barbara Lee

Congresswoman Barbara Lee Issues Statement on Deaths of Humanitarian Aid Volunteers in Gaza 

On April 2, a day after an Israeli airstrike erroneously killed seven employees of World Central Kitchen (WCK), a humanitarian organization delivering aid in the Gaza Strip, a statement was release by Rep. Barbara Lee (D-CA-12). “This is a devastating and avoidable tragedy. My prayers go to the families and loved ones of the selfless members of the World Central Kitchen team whose lives were lost,” said Lee.

Published

on

Congresswoman Barbara Lee
Congresswoman Barbara Lee

By California Black Media

On April 2, a day after an Israeli airstrike erroneously killed seven employees of World Central Kitchen (WCK), a humanitarian organization delivering aid in the Gaza Strip, a statement was release by Rep. Barbara Lee (D-CA-12).

“This is a devastating and avoidable tragedy. My prayers go to the families and loved ones of the selfless members of the World Central Kitchen team whose lives were lost,” said Lee.

The same day, it was confirmed by the organization that the humanitarian aid volunteers were killed in a strike carried out by Israel Defense Forces (IDF). Prior to the incident, members of the team had been travelling in two armored vehicles marked with the WCF logo and they had been coordinating their movements with the IDF. The group had successfully delivered 10 tons of humanitarian food in a deconflicted zone when its convoy was struck.

“This is not only an attack against WCK. This is an attack on humanitarian organizations showing up in the direst situations where food is being used as a weapon of war. This is unforgivable,” said Erin Gore, chief executive officer of World Central Kitchen.

The seven victims included a U.S. citizen as well as others from Australia, Poland, the United Kingdom, Canada, and Palestine.

Lee has been a vocal advocate for a ceasefire in Gaza and has supported actions by President Joe Biden to airdrop humanitarian aid in the area.

“Far too many civilians have lost their lives as a result of Benjamin Netanyahu’s reprehensible military offensive. The U.S. must join with our allies and demand an immediate, permanent ceasefire – it’s long overdue,” Lee said.

Continue Reading

Commentary

Commentary: Republican Votes Are Threatening American Democracy

In many ways, it was great that the Iowa Caucuses were on the same day as Martin Luther King Jr. Day. We needed to know the blunt truth. The takeaway message after the Iowa Caucuses where Donald Trump finished more than 30 points in front of Florida Gov. De Santis and former South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley boils down to this: Our democracy is threatened, for real.

Published

on

It was strange for Iowans to caucus on MLK day. It had a self-cancelling effect. The day that honored America’s civil rights and anti-discrimination hero was negated by evening. That’s when one of the least diverse states in the nation let the world know that white Americans absolutely love Donald Trump. No ifs, ands or buts.
It was strange for Iowans to caucus on MLK day. It had a self-cancelling effect. The day that honored America’s civil rights and anti-discrimination hero was negated by evening. That’s when one of the least diverse states in the nation let the world know that white Americans absolutely love Donald Trump. No ifs, ands or buts.

By Emil Guillermo

In many ways, it was great that the Iowa Caucuses were on the same day as Martin Luther King Jr. Day.

We needed to know the blunt truth.

The takeaway message after the Iowa Caucuses where Donald Trump finished more than 30 points in front of Florida Gov. De Santis and former South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley boils down to this: Our democracy is threatened, for real.

And to save it will require all hands on deck.

It was strange for Iowans to caucus on MLK day. It had a self-cancelling effect. The day that honored America’s civil rights and anti-discrimination hero was negated by evening.

That’s when one of the least diverse states in the nation let the world know that white Americans absolutely love Donald Trump. No ifs, ands or buts.

No man is above the law? To the majority of his supporters, it seems Trump is.

It’s an anti-democracy loyalty that has spread like a political virus.

No matter what he does, Trump’s their guy. Trump received 51% of caucus-goers votes to beat Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, who garnered 21.2%, and former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley, who got 19.1%.

The Asian flash in the pan Vivek Ramaswamy finished way behind and dropped out. Perhaps to get in the VP line. Don’t count on it.

According to CNN’s entrance polls, when caucus-goers were asked if they were a part of the “MAGA movement,” nearly half — 46% — said yes. More revealing: “Do you think Biden legitimately won in 2020?”

Only 29% said “yes.”

That means an overwhelming 66% said “no,” thus showing the deep roots in Iowa of the “Big Lie,” the belief in a falsehood that Trump was a victim of election theft.

Even more revealing and posing a direct threat to our democracy was the question of whether Trump was fit for the presidency, even if convicted of a crime.

Sixty-five percent said “yes.”

Who says that about anyone of color indicted on 91 criminal felony counts?

Would a BIPOC executive found liable for business fraud in civil court be given a pass?

How about a BIPOC person found liable for sexual assault?

Iowans have debased the phrase, “no man is above the law.” It’s a mindset that would vote in an American dictatorship.

Compare Iowa with voters in Asia last weekend. Taiwan rejected threats from authoritarian Beijing and elected pro-democracy Taiwanese vice president Lai Ching-te as its new president.

Meanwhile, in our country, which supposedly knows a thing or two about democracy, the Iowa caucuses show how Americans feel about authoritarianism.

Some Americans actually like it even more than the Constitution allows.

 

About the Author

Emil Guillermo is a journalist and commentator. He does a mini-talk show on YouTube.com/@emilamok1.

Continue Reading

Subscribe to receive news and updates from the Oakland Post

* indicates required

CHECK OUT THE LATEST ISSUE OF THE OAKLAND POST

ADVERTISEMENT

WORK FROM HOME

Home-based business with potential monthly income of $10K+ per month. A proven training system and website provided to maximize business effectiveness. Perfect job to earn side and primary income. Contact Lynne for more details: Lynne4npusa@gmail.com 800-334-0540

Facebook

Trending

Copyright ©2021 Post News Group, Inc. All Rights Reserved.