This past Saturday, I attended the Students for Floyd and Black Lives Matter rallies at Pan Pacific Park. The rallies were a moving and powerful way of acknowledging the heinous injustices committed by police officers on the black community. My motivation for attending the rallies were primarily to support my friend Cleo, who started the Students for Floyd organization, and to stand with black people and hear them speak out about their experience in LA.
Initially, students from all over LA county gathered at Pan Pacific Park to support each other and discuss the importance of the protest. After several speakers made critical points about why and how there must be unity and respect amongst us, we made our way to join the Black Lives Matter protest. This was occurring on the adjacent baseball field. Crowds of over thousands of people had assembled to listen to several speakers and performers. After a short while, we took the streets peacefully, stopping traffic with the intention of making our voices heard: police brutality needs to end. The rally took two right turns and returned towards the park on Beverly Blvd. We marched! However, as the protest evolved, so did the dynamic. From an upcoming street arose a huge stream of black smoke. My friends and I ran closer. We arrived at the sight of a flaming police car, and could not believe our eyes. The tension in the air was tangible as the officers surrounded the flaming car with the threat of rubber bullets. "F**k 12!," "F**k the police!," "I can't breathe!" yelled frustrated members of the crowd.
It dawned on me how complex the situation had become. Black Lives Matter is a peaceful organization with a critical message, yet unfortunately a small subsection of people who's aim is to profit off of the chaos pose a threat to the larger movement's credibility and effectiveness. Vandalism, burning, and looting ensued in the Beverly and Fairfax area as both corporate and local businesses became the victims of the parasitic criminals.
Eventually, not only did rubber bullets rain down on the protesters and criminals, but tear gas was deployed. Later that night, the National Guard arrived. The situation remains incredibly complicated as moral, political, and economic dilemmas have fused resulting in more protests and conflict.
Despite the violence and crime of unaffiliated individuals, the message cannot be ignored: Black Lives Matter. It is quintessential that the negative of such a small denomination of people not undermine the mission of the entire movement. LA should not have to burn for black voices to be heard.
See Photography BLM for more photos.