Hundreds gathered in Moreno Valley yesterday to protest police brutality and the killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis.
Protesters gathered in Moreno Valley Community Park and marched to Moreno Valley City Hall, then back to the park, while Riverside County Sheriff’s Deputies in riot gear closed down streets and intersections.
The rally began at 4:30p.m. and lasted until shortly before 8p.m.
The event was organized in part by Black Lives Matter IE, whose main demands include accountability for police officers and an end to the “police state” in the Inland Empire.
“We just want y’all to stay grounded and stay in this moment, and the uncomfortable feeling you feel right now with the looting, the police state of telling you where you can go and how late you can stay, that’s the everyday life of black people," says Broderick Dunlap with Black Lives Matter IE.
"Like, if you’re out too late in the wrong neighborhood as black people, we have curfews. We’ve been living with a curfew our entire lives. You ever been held at gunpoint for a broken headlight? That’s the life of a black person. So we need the support in order to change the system. A reform is not going to do anything, an entire systemic overhaul needs to happen," Dunlap says.
Stephana Carter, who's been a Moreno Valley resident for 20 years, says she and her husband have experienced racism in this area.
“The reason I’m out here is the fact that throughout our lives, racism has happened even here in our city, Moreno Valley, towards us. So the catalyst that’s bringing us together, George Floyd, that starts it, but racism needs to end," Carter says.
Congressman Mark Takano, a Democrat representing Riverside, marched with the protesters. Takano says he thinks most people around the country protesting George Floyd’s death are doing so peacefully.
“The vast majority of people turning out are people who want to make their voices heard in a peaceful manner. There are other agitators, other interlopers. And unfortunately, I think we also have a president of the United States who is stoking the flames and who is looking to politicize and polemicize and polarize the country,” Takano says.
No arrests were immediately reported.
Another march in Moreno Valley, from the park to City Hall, is planned for 9:30a.m. Friday.
