About 25 activists locked themselves together to block two entrances of the Ronald Dellums Federal Building in Oakland Friday morning.
The activists locked their arms together using sections of PVC pipe and are blocking the two main entrances of the downtown Oakland building this morning. Other entrances, including the entrance to the federal courthouse, are still accessible.
Protesters first locked themselves to the building at about 5:30 a.m. and a crowd of about 150 people has grown steadily throughout the morning. They are singing and playing music.
The protesters say they are there to link the struggles of people in developing nations to movements for black civil rights in the U.S. The protest was organized by groups including the Haiti Action Committee and the Arab Resource and Organizing Center.
Arab Resource and Organizing Center executive director Lara Kiswani said:
“We’re here to lift up the Martin Luther King legacy of internationalism.”
A few federal police officers were present at the peaceful protest but showed no intention of shutting it down as of about 8:30 a.m.
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