Large Crowd Marches in Hollywood to Protest George Floyd’s Death
Large Crowd Marches in Hollywood to Protest George Floyd’s Death
by Contributing Editor
A group of students and others led by the student body president of a local high school gathered Tuesday in Hollywood to protest the death of George Floyd during an arrest in Minneapolis.
Shortly after noon, the gathering had split into two marches of at least several hundred people, both still peaceful. One group marched to Las Palmas and turned south, while another group was headed east on Hollywood Boulevard. A heavy police presence was on hand monitoring the situation, as the marchers continued circling blocks in the Hollywood area.
One group eventually made its way to Santa Monica Boulevard.
Meanwhile, rapper YG said Tuesday on Twitter that he canceled a protest that was to be held at the same location and the same time at Hollywood Boulevard and Vine Avenue, after he was told that “my protest was not safe and that people could get hurt or shot.”
“I’m not trying to get any of my people hurt or shot so I’m gonna cancel today,” the rapper said, pledging to “come back bigger and better on the part of Black Lives Matter.”
It was not immediately clear if the protests were linked or coincidentally scheduled for the same time at the same location.
Cleo Riley, the founder of Students For Floyd, had said she expects students to come from throughout the greater Los Angeles area to gather at noon at Hollywood and Vine for a peaceful demonstration.
She said earlier in the day that it was unclear exactly how many people would show up for the protest, while noting that she had heard that YG had posted Monday on Twitter, “LA meet me. Hollywood Boulevard & Vine tomorrow Tuesday 12 noon BLM – George Floyd.”
The 17-year-old Los Angeles girl — who is wrapping up her last day of school as a high school junior at Immaculate Heart High School in Los Angeles — told City News Service that she believes it is “important to show there can be peace.”
She said she formed the group less than a week ago after being unable to find any student-based organizations involved in the issue.
Riley — whose father is white and whose mother is West Indian — said she was “completely disgusted” by the video of Floyd’s arrest and believes people are tired of “not really doing any action.”
The organization has been publicized solely through social media, with posts on Instagram and Twitter, Riley said.
“I hope it brings actual change in our legislative system and our government,” Riley said a few hours before the planned demonstration. “Something actually has to change in our government and our policing systems and our prison systems.”
She noted that her group has also been involved in helping to clean up damage, including graffiti, that was done over the weekend in Los Angeles.
“I really think it’s important to clean up because that’s not the intention behind these protests,” she said, noting that she doesn’t think the people who are “creating the havoc … should be associated with any of the causes.”
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All credit goes to Contributing Editor
Originally published on https://mynewsla.com
