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Bay Area residents once again came out in droves in San Francisco, Oakland, Berkeley, Palo Alto, Fremont and beyond for peaceful protests over the death of George Floyd, who died in police custody in Minneapolis, Minnesota.
The demonstrations Saturday appear not to lose any steam as they entered their ninth Day, with volunteer organizers listing more than three dozen actions from Novato through Pittsburg and Cupertino. Marches against racism and police violence against black people have reached a level not seen in years nationally, sparked by the killing of Floyd, an African American man, in Minneapolis, who died after a police officer knelt on his neck for more than 8 minutes, and Breonna Taylor, an African American emergency room technician, shot to death in her own home in Louisville, Kentucky, by police officers who forced their way in with a “no-knock” warrant.
In Oakland, hundreds of people — most dressed in black — gathered once again in Frank H. Ogawa Plaza for a large demonstration, while more rallied beside Lake Merritt.
In Berkeley, a crowd of several thousand marched down Martin Luther King Jr. Way, after gathering at Grove Park. There was a jubilant atmosphere, with folks dancing and a New Orleans-style brass band playing songs. A handful of protesters attempted to start a disparaging chant against the police, but it dissipated after a few moments
And in San Francisco, thousands of demonstrators walked across the Golden Gate Bridge in a march organized by 17-year-old Tiana Day of San Ramon. She attended the protest with a facemask with the words “I can’t breathe” on it and with a sign reading “Lead With Love.” The demonstrators eventually jumped over the pedestrian divider, at points blocking traffic on the bridge in both directions.
“I have absolutely no choice but to use my voice and stand out and demand justice for black kids in this country to get the same opportunities and chances at success as a white kid does,” Day told the assembled protesters.
Day is part of a growing wave of young activists organizing mass protests. Last week, a rally in San Francisco organized by 17-year-old Simone Jacques drew more than 10,000 people, and a Redwood City demonstration with some 2,000 protesters was organized in part by 14-year-old Tiffany Medrano-Martinez.
“In all honesty, we are smart. We are really, really smart,” Day told a cheering crowd. “We know what is happening in society today is wrong.”
An earlier demonstration Saturday was held at Candlestick Park, former home of the San Francisco 49ers. Four years ago, Colin Kaepernick, who played six years for the 49ers at the team’s Santa Clara home, protested against police brutality by kneeling at the start of football games. The NFL is widely seen as having blacklisted the prominent player for his activism.
“Kaepernick tried to take a knee, he tried to take a peaceful knee. He did this for every single person in the struggle and he was ridiculed for it,” Tiayadi Day, Tiana’s father, told the crowd at the Golden Gate Bridge. “He was thrown out the NFL. They did so much to this man and all he did was take a knee.”
Tiayadi Day said he works at San Francisco’s Juvenile Hall, where most of the young people are Latino and black. During three years of work, he said he’s only seen three white kids detained at the hall.
“In our area, right here in San Francisco, you’re going to tell me there’s no white kids that are committing crimes in this city?” he said. “That’s not true, they are. But the punishment is different for each and everyone.”
Reporters Kerry Crowley, Nate Gartrell and Nico Savidge contributed to this report
