Black Lives Matter organizers wanted to bring its rage over the George Floyd case and so many others to L.A.'s elites, in their own neighborhoods.
In 1992, the last time Angelenos’ rage over police brutality boiled into an uprising, large swaths of South Los Angeles burnt to the ground.
Instead, demonstrators have descended on some of Los Angeles’ most upscale, iconic retail areas, including Beverly Hills, Santa Monica, Hollywood and the Fairfax district. Looting has occurred in some of those locations, as some used the cover of what were largely peaceful protests to rob stores.“We want to go to places of white affluence so that the pain and outrage that we feel can be put right in their faces,” said Melina Abdullah, one of the leaders of Black Lives Matter.
In the wake of Floyd’s death, other protests across the country seem to be following the same tactics. Demonstrators have marched through retail strips in New York, Chicago and Atlanta in the name of Floyd, a black man who died as former Minneapolis Police Officer Derek Chauvin pressed his knee into Floyd’s neck for nearly nine minutes.. Three other officers who stood by and at times also tried to restrain Floyd have not been charged.
“I went with great pride and joy,” Ali said. “A young child in my neighborhood had been executed ... and [the shopkeeper] didn’t serve any jail time. I had the mindset that by damaging their property, they were getting everything they deserved.”They smashed windows and spray-painted buildings. He said he watched as others set buildings on fire.
Looking back, Ali said those actions were some of the biggest regrets of his life. This time, he flew to Minneapolis to take part in the peace marches there and to clean up after they devolved into destruction.Earl Ofari Hutchinson lived through the 1965 Watts riots and the 1992 civil unrest. He said the current protests look vastly different. The earlier events were mostly black people protesting in the streets.
The scene in the Fairfax district left dozens of shops shattered, many of them small businesses. Some merchants — already reeling from coronavirus closures — said they supported the movement but could not understand why they were targeted.“We’re barely getting over the virus,” said Ricky Flores, whose Melrose Avenue clothing store was looted.Crews Monday painted over the words “RIP GEORGE” scribbled in black spray paint on the tower of the Farmers Market.
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