Shouting Voices: Protests Erupt at City Hall
Jospeh Williams being grabbed at the back of his neck by LAPD. Williams is being pushed out of the Los Angeles City Hall, as protesters made their way inside to tape up flyers calling for the resignation of Kevin De Leon on Tuesday, Oct. 18 at Los Angeles, Calif. (Danilo Perez | The Corsair)
Protests against the Los Angeles City Council continued outside the doors of City Hall during a multi-organization demonstration Tuesday, Oct. 18, 2022.
Representatives from Black Lives Matter Los Angeles, Union De Vecinos, and other activist organizations blocked the Main Street Entrance to City Hall in an effort to prevent ongoing council meetings. Official business continued online via virtual meetings, and protestors who breached the building’s entrance were removed by security.
Leaked audio of a meeting between council members Kevin de Leon, Gil Cedillo and Nury Martinez on October XX featured racially charged remarks, and ignited city-wide calls for the resignation of all three councilors. Martinez has since stepped down from her position as council president, but De Leon and Cedillo have refused to resign despite increasing public scrutiny.
Veronica Sanse, Los Angeles District 10 Resident, demonstrates at the entrance of Los Angeles City Hall during a protest against the City Council Tuesday, Oct 18 2022. Multiple activist organizations are demanding the resignation of the council members who were caught making racially charged comments. (Anthony Clingerman | The Corsair)
Veronica Sance, District 10 Resident, participated in the rally to voice her disapproval against the city government.
“I’m from a district where they’ve sat in the back room - plotting and planning to slice and dice away the votes from our district,” Sance said. “They should’ve made De Leon resign! I’m a taxpayer, and I don’t appreciate paying for them to not do their job for the people.”
Sance took particular umbrage with racist remarks made by councilmember Cedillo.
“I’ll tell you how I really feel - I’m hotter than fish grease! He (Cedillo) made the comment that there’s 60 or 100 black people in the room, and only 25 of them are making noise. Guess what? I’m 25 voices all by myself,” Sance said. “I’ve been out supporting Black Lives Matter the past four days - without coming out you’re just as guilty and complacent as the people we’re trying to get out of office.”
Kevin De Leon has announced his refusal to resign and hopes to regain the city’s trust - although demonstrations continue in front of his home and throughout the city.
Matyos Kidann, Stop LAPD Spying Coalition Activist, stood against claims made by the city councilors.
“These are individuals that leverage their connections to black and brown communities to reach their position. They claim to represent us but use those policies to attain more power and resources,” Kidann said. “For the council members that haven’t - resign.”
