Bay Area hosts solidarity protests for George Floyd

VALLEJO, Calif. - With protests over George Floyd's killing flaring across the country, two Bay Area gatherings Thursday were peaceful but impassioned. 

"No justice, no peace," chanted a few dozen demonstrators who met in Vallejo's Wilson Park and marched to police headquarters a short distance away. 

"I personally have been on the ground unable to breathe," shouted one man into a bullhorn. "And somewhere in the United States right now there's somebody on the ground with a knee in their neck by a police officer."

Many speakers referred to past incidents of police misconduct, excessive force, and officer-involved fatalities. 

The crowd recited the names of other individuals who have died at the hands of law enforcement. 

"I'm terrified by the police, my whole life I've been terrified of the police," said Curtis Nelson, who said racism and profiling go hand in hand. "When I go into fancy places, I feel like I'm lesser by the way I'm looked at and the way I'm judged."

Nelson became emotional describing how Floyd's death has struck a deep nerve. 

"I had become complacent but it's making all of this surface, and I'm not from Minnesota," said Nelson. "And if that's happening with me, it's happening with all of us." 

Outrage over the killing of George Floyd also brought demonstrators to Oakland streets. 

About 60 protesters assembled outside police headquarters and marched up Broadway to City Hall, before dispersing at about 7 p.m.

Police watchdog groups plan an even larger protest on Friday evening. 

Pinning Floyd down as he struggled to breathe has been universally condemned.

Protesters say they hope it's a tipping point.  

"Especially for me, as someone white, I feel like we need to bring awareness because we are benefiting from a system of oppression and racism," said Jessy West, one of the Vallejo protest organizers. "If we don't do anything, nothing's going to happen."

And while the Minneapolis officers were swiftly fired, with criminal charges pending, protesters say most families don't get those outcomes.  

"I'm here for all the mothers suffering because their children, their sons, their daughters have been viciously murdered and they have no justice," said Nicole Waterford, another protest organizer. 

Protesters point out, simply disapproving of Floyd's treatment is not enough.

"We need to make racists uncomfortable," said Marina Adams of Concord. "Being an ally means standing up to someone in your family who might say something that is racist, or challenging their assumption that someone deserves what happened to them."

Adams noted, with so many people at home during the pandemic, there is close attention to the case, so Floyd's death has the potential to change the dialogue as never before.   

"Black people are calling out all people, if you are not saying something to stand with us, then you are riding with the treatment we're getting and that's not fair."