Independence Day weekend was different in El Segundo this year. Normally known as a conservative 80% Caucasian bastion with the racist history and police profiling, 200 resident protesters led by high school students, are seeking to change this image with a rally held at Library Park on July 5.
Groups organizing this and prior protests since the killing of George Floyd have come from several different El Segundo high school organizations including Hispanic student union, Black Student Union, LGBTQ, Bridge Between Cultures and others.
These groups are also organizing for major changes in their curriculum to include contributions of minorities, cultural activities that are inclusive of minority students to celebrate their cultures, hire a diverse staff and the establishment of a Community Council to investigate violations of the zero-tolerance policy of racism.
A leader of this action, Elias Garcia, a recent graduate of El Segundo high school, explained the history of their protests. “When the killing of George Floyd happened, and we decided to organize a March, we expected to have a few people but 100 showed up. Given the history we didn’t expect El Segundo to be very supportive of anti-police demonstrations. Since then we have held two rallies and a march including a June 19 ceremony.”
He further explained that there is lots of racial profiling in El Segundo, police target Blacks who are merely driving through the city or come to eat here. (Many of them airport workers). That is why we formed El Segundo for Black Lives. There is a sordid history of racism with high numbers of incidents of police using unnecessary force.”
The demonstrators have also delivered demands to the chief of police and city council members, which include:
eliminating the use of excessive force, with end racial profiling, review the police budget, accountability of police officers violating civil rights and establishing a civilian review board.
Keith Puckett, an El Segundo resident, told RLNews that he has a son entering El Segundo high school and for that reason, he became part of the leadership, part of the coordinating committee for these protests.
“There is an insensitivity here to other cultures and the city has a history of racism,” Puckett said. “As late as the 1980s, there used to be a sign that said no Coloreds allowed after dark. We want to change that reputation.”
Essential leader of the action, Tonya Taylor recounted a similar sentiment.
“As a black person in El Segundo or anywhere else we need to fight to exist,” Taylor said. “We are faced with so much injustice, police brutality and micro attacks such as our children being held back in the schools or the harassment of black women. When George Floyd was killed. It was an overflow, an explosion based on all the oppression.”
Taylor then said every community in the US should be doing the same as they are because racism exists everywhere.
“We must remove institutionalized racism and reeducate the community so that it moves away from racism, homophobia and sexism,” Taylor said.
High school students were a prominent part of the demonstration, including the LGBT Q club.
“We should all be involved fighting the intersection of racism and sexism and we can get a lot more done as a community,” LGBT Q club president Alex said. Another student, Miles, said that he felt that “institutionalized prejudice is just as deadly as the cop killings.”
July 7 is the El Segundo school Board of Education meeting and the students are organizing to have residents send a statement of support for their demands to Tracy Adams at tadams@esusd.net.
