Long Beach organizers rally in response to election results, call for more action

Nov. 6, 2020 / By

Audrena Redmond of Black Lives Matter speaks during the rally. All photos by Ceferino Martirez.

 

Long Beach community organizations rallied at City Hall on Nov. 4, in response to the ongoing 2020 election.

During the rally, representatives from several organizations spoke on current anxieties and issues plaguing their communities. 

Audrena Redmond & Sheila Bates of the Long Beach chapter of Black Lives Matter spoke on the importance of protecting the community.

Bates claimed that while she was glad with the approvals of Prop 17 and Measure J, which she called a “defunding the police bill.” She also expressed frustration about the rejection of Prop 21 and the approval of Prop 22, and how conservative white voters are harming communities of color.

Redmond said the measure fails to support marginalized youth with “1.1 million dollars” coming in, and that the measure would become useless in a few decades as the oil industry in the city will soon dry.

“We cannot vote our way to revolution… Instead of [cutting] the police budget, they passed Measure US, which is not enough,” Redmond said. 

Minister Yukinori Yokohoma of the Long Beach Buddhist Church along with a coalition of religious ministers spoke on their experience within the community. Yokohama was born in Japan and now resides in the Westside, he discussed his experience with the community’s resentment and the growing anger that they faced.

“We have this and anger and sorrow that people will not understand, but we can use this anger and hatred to transform the lives of the many and let the light of the community shine” Yokohama stated

Jamilet Ochoa from the Long Beach Immigrant Rights Coalition called out the current city leaders and national administration for their lack of empathy and support for social change. She said the community can build power and organize, chanting “I will stand against white supremacy” alongside the crowd.

“We deserve better… Our fight against white supremacy has been [an outgoing] struggle for black, indigenous, and people of color,” Ochoa said. “We are all witness of corruption and murder locally and nationally, it is not new that our community is angry over the “choices” that we are given.”

 

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Ceferino Martirez

Ceferino Martirez is a photojournalist with VoiceWaves. He is a history and history education major at CSULB who joined VoiceWaves in 2018. Martirez’s work focuses on street photography and protest coverage. His work with VoiceWaves has focused on using his photography to capture community voices on issues like housing, labor, and youth rights.