A peaceful Independence Day Oceanfront protest
Black Lives Matter 757 hosts march on Va. Beach Boardwalk to protest police brutality, push for reform
VIRGINIA BEACH — With fireworks erupting on the beach and tourists looking down from hotel balconies Saturday night, more than a hundred people marched down the Virginia Beach Boardwalk to protest police brutality and push for reform.
The activist group Black Lives Matter 757 organized the demonstration, calling it “Shut Down the Oceanfront 2.0” — a reference to the May 31 protest at the same location. The group led a second march on one of Virginia Beach’s busiest tourist days to push city officials and police toward more accountability and transparency, arguing that not enough has been done in response to concerns raised in recent meetings, said Aubrey Japharii Jones, the group’s president.
“All they’re worried about is what the tourists will think,” Jones said Saturday before the march. “The tourists need to know that Virginia Beach is a racist city.”
The group is calling for the establishment of a citizen review board that would independently investigate allegations of police misconduct, and for more severe charges against a man who drove a pickup truck toward a group of protesters at the May 31 demonstration. Emanuel Wilder was charged recently with four misdemeanor offenses.
Jones, who also called for the police to be defunded and for money to instead be invested in grassroots organizations, said the group next plans to flood City Hall during a council meeting.
The Saturday night event started much like the May 31 protest, beginning at 7:57 p.m. at Rudee Loop. This demonstration started with a few dozen people, who were blocked from marching down Atlantic Avenue by a line of police officers using their bikes.
The group instead continued down the Boardwalk. Participants, largely wearing face masks to prevent the spread of the coronavirus, chanted the names of people recently killed by police and encouraged beachgoers and tourists to join them.
Onlookers in nearby hotels and restaurants appeared mostly supportive, with many returning chants or raising fists. Several started marching with the group as it continued to Neptune’s Park.
Some tourists weren’t surprised to see the protest on Independence Day. Demonstrations against police brutality have become a nearly daily occurrence throughout Hampton Roads since the May 25 death of George Floyd, a black man who pleaded for help as a white police officer knelt on his neck for nearly eight minutes in Minneapolis.
“It’s pretty much the norm now,” said Alexander Waye, who was visiting from North Carolina. “If we don’t do it, nothing is going to happen.”
Melissa Diop, who is from New Jersey and was visiting Virginia Beach for the second time, said she supported the protest, and that it felt safe and peaceful the entire time.
“It’s nice to know everyone is on the same page,” she said.
The Independence Day protest ended shortly after 10 p.m. back at Rudee Loop without incident.
The first Oceanfront demonstration began peacefully, but turned hostile. Police declared it an unlawful assembly. Protesters and police were at odds over who was to blame for the violent night, which resulted in more than $300,000 in damages to Oceanfront businesses.
Interim Police Chief Tony Zucaro, who took over the department in May following the retirement of Chief James Cervera, previously said the situation escalated because some members of the crowd became “aggressive” and started throwing trash cans and other projectiles at officers.
The chief claimed people in the crowd deployed tear gas at the officers, who then deployed their own tear gas in response. Jones and several others at the protest called that a lie, saying police were the only ones to use tear gas and escalated the situation by showing up in riot gear.
On Saturday night, police were largely absent along the route, though a drone and helicopter often circled above the crowd. Jones referred to the May 31 protest as a hiccup, saying the group has been peaceful for four years and will continue to be.
“Just know, we did this peacefully because we wanted to,” Jones said.