Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs

"Black Lives Matter is under attack"

Movement sympathizers march in City Heights

Marchers depart following a rally outside City Heights Weingart Library
Marchers depart following a rally outside City Heights Weingart Library

Hundreds of protesters representing a coalition of groups sympathetic to the Black Lives Matter movement rallied in City Heights on Friday night (July 15) before embarking on a march through the neighborhood that resulted in southbound lanes of I-15 being temporarily closed to traffic.

"Black Lives Matter is under attack," said activist Gloria Verdieu, referring to criticisms of the group both in the wake of last week's killings of Dallas police and backlash from detractors instead promoting an "all lives matter" mantra.

"When black lives matter, all lives do matter," Verdieu said. She urged the groups in attendance — representing causes including police brutality, socialist politics, LBGTQ rights, and others — to continue efforts to organize locally and nationally, to push for solutions like a stronger local police-review board.

Sponsored
Sponsored
Rev. J. Lee Hill speaks to the crowd

"I don't know if I should feel excited because I'm seeing all of these beautiful, diverse faces, if I'm encouraged by the fact that you're here today holding signs and lighting candles," questioned Rev. J. Lee Hill at the group's rally. "Yet standing here today, I'm mad as hell. The truth of the matter is that if I go out and express the rage and anger I'm feeling, I might end up the next one dead."

Following nearly two hours of speeches, the group, numbering in excess of 700, marched up Fairmount Avenue with a police escort, heading toward the I-15 overpass at El Cajon Boulevard, where they intended to display lighted signs against police violence. Met by a heavy contingent of law enforcement guarding the bridge, the group circled around for some time until a contingent broke off and began marching down an exit ramp and onto the freeway.

While others cheered from above, police worked to corral the protesters who'd spilled onto the freeway, opening lanes of traffic after about 20 minutes. Officers continued to drive the remaining group back toward the park from which the rally originated, across the street from the Mid-City police station, where they unsuccessfully demanded an audience with chief Shelley Zimmerman.

Despite the freeway incident, the rally and march remained largely peaceful, and police were not immediately reporting arrests.

"It was peaceful the whole way through. I didn't see any violence at all," said march participant Michelle (who declined to give her last name). "A lot of people driving when we were walking through the streets were honking their horns and holding their fists up in solidarity with us who were marching."

The latest copy of the Reader

Please enjoy this clickable Reader flipbook. Linked text and ads are flash-highlighted in blue for your convenience. To enhance your viewing, please open full screen mode by clicking the icon on the far right of the black flipbook toolbar.

Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

San Diego Dim Sum Tour, Warwick’s Holiday Open House

Events November 24-November 27, 2024
Next Article

Syrian treat maker Hakmi Sweets makes Dubai chocolate bars

Look for the counter shop inside a Mediterranean grill in El Cajon
Marchers depart following a rally outside City Heights Weingart Library
Marchers depart following a rally outside City Heights Weingart Library

Hundreds of protesters representing a coalition of groups sympathetic to the Black Lives Matter movement rallied in City Heights on Friday night (July 15) before embarking on a march through the neighborhood that resulted in southbound lanes of I-15 being temporarily closed to traffic.

"Black Lives Matter is under attack," said activist Gloria Verdieu, referring to criticisms of the group both in the wake of last week's killings of Dallas police and backlash from detractors instead promoting an "all lives matter" mantra.

"When black lives matter, all lives do matter," Verdieu said. She urged the groups in attendance — representing causes including police brutality, socialist politics, LBGTQ rights, and others — to continue efforts to organize locally and nationally, to push for solutions like a stronger local police-review board.

Sponsored
Sponsored
Rev. J. Lee Hill speaks to the crowd

"I don't know if I should feel excited because I'm seeing all of these beautiful, diverse faces, if I'm encouraged by the fact that you're here today holding signs and lighting candles," questioned Rev. J. Lee Hill at the group's rally. "Yet standing here today, I'm mad as hell. The truth of the matter is that if I go out and express the rage and anger I'm feeling, I might end up the next one dead."

Following nearly two hours of speeches, the group, numbering in excess of 700, marched up Fairmount Avenue with a police escort, heading toward the I-15 overpass at El Cajon Boulevard, where they intended to display lighted signs against police violence. Met by a heavy contingent of law enforcement guarding the bridge, the group circled around for some time until a contingent broke off and began marching down an exit ramp and onto the freeway.

While others cheered from above, police worked to corral the protesters who'd spilled onto the freeway, opening lanes of traffic after about 20 minutes. Officers continued to drive the remaining group back toward the park from which the rally originated, across the street from the Mid-City police station, where they unsuccessfully demanded an audience with chief Shelley Zimmerman.

Despite the freeway incident, the rally and march remained largely peaceful, and police were not immediately reporting arrests.

"It was peaceful the whole way through. I didn't see any violence at all," said march participant Michelle (who declined to give her last name). "A lot of people driving when we were walking through the streets were honking their horns and holding their fists up in solidarity with us who were marching."

Comments
Sponsored

The latest copy of the Reader

Please enjoy this clickable Reader flipbook. Linked text and ads are flash-highlighted in blue for your convenience. To enhance your viewing, please open full screen mode by clicking the icon on the far right of the black flipbook toolbar.

Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

Trophy truck crushes four at Baja 1000

"Two other racers on quads died too,"
Next Article

Southern California Asks: 'What Is Vinivia?' Meet the New Creator-First Livestreaming App

Comments
Ask a Hipster — Advice you didn't know you needed Big Screen — Movie commentary Blurt — Music's inside track Booze News — San Diego spirits Classical Music — Immortal beauty Classifieds — Free and easy Cover Stories — Front-page features Drinks All Around — Bartenders' drink recipes Excerpts — Literary and spiritual excerpts Feast! — Food & drink reviews Feature Stories — Local news & stories Fishing Report — What’s getting hooked from ship and shore From the Archives — Spotlight on the past Golden Dreams — Talk of the town The Gonzo Report — Making the musical scene, or at least reporting from it Letters — Our inbox Movies@Home — Local movie buffs share favorites Movie Reviews — Our critics' picks and pans Musician Interviews — Up close with local artists Neighborhood News from Stringers — Hyperlocal news News Ticker — News & politics Obermeyer — San Diego politics illustrated Outdoors — Weekly changes in flora and fauna Overheard in San Diego — Eavesdropping illustrated Poetry — The old and the new Reader Travel — Travel section built by travelers Reading — The hunt for intellectuals Roam-O-Rama — SoCal's best hiking/biking trails San Diego Beer — Inside San Diego suds SD on the QT — Almost factual news Sheep and Goats — Places of worship Special Issues — The best of Street Style — San Diego streets have style Surf Diego — Real stories from those braving the waves Theater — On stage in San Diego this week Tin Fork — Silver spoon alternative Under the Radar — Matt Potter's undercover work Unforgettable — Long-ago San Diego Unreal Estate — San Diego's priciest pads Your Week — Daily event picks
4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs
Close

Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

This Week’s Reader This Week’s Reader