Local activist groups organized a unity rally in front of Long Beach City Hall Saturday to celebrate the announcement of the presidential election and take time to encourage the community to keep moving forward.
“We’re going to hold onto that feeling that brought us out here,” Audrena Redmond of Black Lives Matter Long Beach said. “We’re going to hold onto that feeling to take us through.”
A small crowd of around 80 demonstrators braved the cold winds and showers that took Long Beach by surprise.
The crowd celebrated the news of President-elect Joseph R. Biden’s victory in the presidential election and the removal of Jackie Lacey from the district attorney’s office, while also cautioning that there is still work to be done.
Redmond emphasized that the focus needs to be kept on action at home in Long Beach.
“We are here because we appreciate accountability,” Redmond said. “We need to do the work locally. We are going to make sure they know that we’re here.”
Jazlyn Tabar, a Long Beach State alumnus and activist from Anakbayan, a Filipino rights group, said that “the work isn’t done yet.”
“No matter who is elected president, there are still people dying at the hands of the state,” Tabar said.
Byron Adams, a leader in Queers Obliterating White Supremacy, echoed the sentiments of the crowd, encouraging community action and togetherness.
“We have taken a rock out of our shoe but we’re continuing,” they said.
Victor Bouzi, a leader with BLMLB, maintained that the community must stand in solidarity with “all these distinct identities and cultures that make us unique and beautiful and worthy of love” and that he feels there is still work to be done with regarding the movement to defund the police.
“Get involved, let’s get our friends involved, let’s get our parents involved, let’s get our community involved,” he said. “Because through community is the only way we’re gonna fight this.”