Peaceful protesters briefly entered stores at the Emeryville Shopping Mall including Forever 21, Apple & Old Navy with drums & chants of “Stop shopping, shut it down” and “Black Lives Matter”. An estimated 100 Protesters blocked traffic on Shellmound and Bay Street in an attempt to disrupt what they refer to as an attempt to coerce the MLK holiday for capitalism and reclaim its meaning as a day of activism.
Protesters inside Forever 21 struggle for bullhorn with security #ReclaimMLKOak #reclaimmlk pic.twitter.com/SL9c2HTijp
— Julia Carrie Wong (@juliacarriew) January 18, 2015
The EPD blocked traffic for the protests and no arrests were reported. The protests concluded after about 45 minutes behind the Public Market.
Protest has marched over to a grassy area behind Emeryville Public Market to conclude #ReclaimMLKOak #MLKShutItDown pic.twitter.com/uhRe0VGiYT
— Julia Carrie Wong (@juliacarriew) January 18, 2015
Oakland-area protests disrupt Sunday shoppers
By Julia Carrie Wong, Special for USA TODAY
About 50 protesters held a “die-in” outside the Walmart, and later in the afternoon more than 100 people disrupted shoppers and stores at the outdoor Bay Street shopping center in Emeryville, Calif., near Oakland.
At the Walmart, some carried signs calling on the giant retail chain to pay workers $15 an hour and chanted “poverty is violence.” At the shopping center, some protesters wore signs reading “Black Lives Matter” while chanting and drumming inside several stores including Victoria’s Secret and Forever 21.
Read More on USAToday.com →
Feature Image: @juliacarriew on Twitter
[…] reportedly getting in vehicles staged in the Bay Street parking garage & IKEA. Unlike last year when some protesters entered stores and tried to disrupt the shopping activity of […]
[…] with some reportedly getting in vehicles staged in the Bay Street parking garage & IKEA. Unlike last year when some protesters entered stores and tried to disrupt the shopping activity of customers, no […]