Thousands of people took to Oakland streets beginning May 29 for what was largely a peaceful protest against the death of George Floyd, a Black man in Minneapolis, Minn., who died after a white police officer knelt on his neck for nearly nine minutes.
By 11:00 p.m. on the first night of protests in the Bay Area, Twitter was filled with videos of looting and fires in Downtown Oakland.
“We will not let out-of-town individuals undermine this legitimate protest and destroy our local economy,” said Barbara Leslie, president and CEO of the Oakland Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce.
Others headed toward the Oakland Police Department (OPD) building on Broadway and took a knee as they were met with a line of police officers.
Several peaceful daytime protests also occurred, including a caravan of over 1,000 cars around Lake Merritt, and a march down Broadway on Monday from Oakland Technical High School at 42nd street that ended at the Oakland Police Department on Seventh street.
