SAN FRANCISCO—A group known as the Black.Seed held a demonstration for the ongoing “Black Lives Matter” movement. Protesters blocked westbound traffic on the Bay Bridge on Monday, January 18, which prevented cars from crossing into the East Bay from San Francisco. Protesters proclaimed they were demonstrating in honor of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., and called the demonstration “a strong, courageous stand in solidarity.” The protests were branded with the #ReclaimMLK on social media.
The small group of protesters arrived onto the Bay Bridge around 4:00 p.m. in five vehicles, and stopped one car in each lane under the new tower. The protesters then stepped out of their vehicles and chained themselves, connecting their bodies to each of the five cars. Traffic immediately halted, and remained blocked until approximately 5:00 p.m. in the evening.
The Black.Seed demonstrators had planned to stay chained to the bridge for 96 minutes as a representation of the “96 Hours of Direct Action” protests that took place in Oakland. Thirty minutes after the protesters blocked the bridge, police arrived and began arresting the protesters. Police handcuffed about a dozen protesters with zip-ties and proceeded to move the protesters to the two shoulders of the bridge so that the remaining three lanes of traffic could pass through.
A rally also took place in the Oakland, Emeryville areas protesting police violence, also in memory of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s legacy. In a post from Black.Seed members, the group described themselves to be a “black, queer liberation collective” to stand together for the anti police-terror project and the unfair treatment of African Americans.
According to an official post on the organization’s website, this is the second year in a row where the Anti Police-Terror Project has “put out a call for 96 Hours of Direct Action to reclaim Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s radical legacy and take a stand against anti-Black racism and terrorism.”
