Calling for an end to the epidemic of racist police murder, demonstrators shut down San Francisco’s Market Street, in the heart of the city’s shopping district, for more than two hours on Saturday, Dec. 6, following a militant march from the Mission District. Twenty-two people were arrested, including several organizers from the ANSWER Coalition, which called the action on 24 hours’ notice.
Hundreds of passersby stopped to hear speakers and many joined in the protest, lining both sides of Market Street, raising their arms and chanting, “Hands up, don’t shoot,” and “No justice, no peace—No racist police.”
The march was led by a banner reading: “Justice for Eric, Mike, Alex, Tamir… Stop Racist Police Terror in the U.S.” The names referred to Eric Garner of New York City, Mike Brown of Ferguson, Alex Nieto of San Francisco, and 12-year-old Tamir Rice of Cleveland—four of the hundreds of young Black and Latino men murdered by police in the last year.
Later the same day, hundreds of protesters marched, rallied and confronted the police in Berkeley, Calif., in a demonstration that lasted for many hours. A massive deployment of cops from Berkeley and other East Bay departments fired clouds of tear gas—affecting thousands of people including many non-protesters as well— but failed to break up the
demonstration.
The protest caused the shutdown of large areas of downtown Berkeley and two major BART train stations. At least six people were arrested.
December 6 was the 14th straight day of demonstrations against racist police killing in the Bay Area.