Humboldt County protests, large and small
Editor’s note: According to readers at times- standard. com, these were the Top 10 Humboldt County news stories of 2020. Got something to say about this list? Let us know at letters@times-standard.com.
Hundreds of Humboldt County residents took to the streets in the wake of the May 25 killing of George Floyd, a Black man, by Minneapolis police.
Protests took place in Eureka, Arcata, Fortuna and other Humboldt County locations in the following weeks.
Some of the protests included marches that, at times, blocked traffic. In multiple instances, vehicles were seen attempting to drive into protesters, sometimes causing injury.
Hundreds of residents carried Black Lives Matter signs and protested police violence. In the wake of the protests, local cities looked at allocations to local police departments. In Arcata, the police chief regularly gives updates on how the department is implementing reforms inspired by the Black Lives Matter movement.
Another local protest makes national news
Earlier in May, one local woman’s image went viral after a photo was taken of her outside of the Humboldt County courthouse protesting California’s response to the pandemic. The sign she was carrying compared the state’s stayat-home order to the slave trade and exploded online with widespread reactions calling the sign racist and deeply offensive.
In a statement, Gretha Stenger apologized for the image, which was shared thousands of times on Twitter and garnered hundreds of reactions on Facebook from people criticizing the sign’s message. Stenger said the sign was not hers but handed to her by another protester at the demonstration.
“Holding that sign up at the lockdown protest was a grave mistake and I ask forgiveness from all those who I have caused pain,” she wrote in the statement. “As I had no sign of my own, it was handed to me by another protester and a photographer took the picture before I considered the racist implications. My intent was to take a stand for the freedom of all human persons and I mistakenly held a sign that conveyed the opposite. Please know that I respect the dignity of all people and I sincerely regret any suffering it has caused.”