Erika D. Smith | Guest Columnist
At the first event of the day to mourn — well, fume — over the murder of George Floyd by Minneapolis police, activist Paula Minor climbed up on the back of a flatbed truck across from L.A. City Hall on Tuesday morning and shouted the obvious. “Changes were promised. A lot of things were said. A lot of things began,” she said, prompting nods from a few dozen protesters blocking 1st Street. “But here in Los Angeles, city and county, change did not occur.” She’s right.
Police are still killing Black and Latino people at disproportionate rates, as Californians were reminded last week by Floyd’s younger brother, Philonise, who flew to Southern California last week to stand with the family of yet another Black man killed by the cops. “The world needs to stand up for Anthony McClain just like they did for George Floyd,” Philonise told protesters assembled outside Pasadena City Hall. McClain, 32, was shot in the back last August while trying to flee a traffic stop.
The case has received fresh attention after the family’s attorney, Ben Crump — also an attorney for the Floyd family — recently released new video of his last moments. “We need to push the issue every day because, every day, it’s somebody being killed,” Philonise continued, shouting now in his thick Southern drawl: “It’s like a never-ending cycle!” At the first event of the day to mourn — well, fume — over the murder of George Floyd by Minneapolis police, activist Paula Minor climbed up on the back of a flatbed truck across from L.A. City Hall on Tuesday morning and shouted the obvious. “Changes were promised.
A lot of things were said. A lot of things began,” she said, prompting nods from a few dozen protesters blocking 1st Street. “But here in Los Angeles, city and county, change did not occur.” She’s right. Police are still killing Black and Latino people at disproportionate rates, as Californians were reminded last week by Floyd’s younger brother, Philonise, who flew to Southern California last week to stand with the family of yet another Black man killed by the cops. “The world needs to stand up for Anthony McClain just like they did for George Floyd,” Philonise told protesters assembled outside Pasadena City Hall. McClain, 32, was shot in the back last August while trying to flee a traffic stop.
The case has received fresh attention after the family’s attorney, Ben Crump — also an attorney for the Floyd family — recently released new video of his last moments. “We need to push the issue every day because, every day, it’s somebody being killed,” Philonise continued, shouting now in his thick Southern drawl: “It’s like a never-ending cycle!”
Copyright © 1881-2021. Los Angeles Times. Used with Permission.
Find your latest news here at the Hemet & San Jacinto Chronicle
