‘We’re Here! We’re Queer! Black Lives Matter!’

Roughly 200 protestors blocked streets in the Castro district of San Francisco on Christmas Eve, in solidarity with nationwide demonstrations against the deaths of black male suspects in confrontations with police. The protests, which targeted the heart of San Francisco’s vibrant lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) community, were organized under the heading: “Queers Come out for #BlackLivesMatter.” The activists, chanting “We’re Here! We’re Queer! Black Lives Matter!” briefly blocked traffic.

The demonstrators staged a “die-in” at one of the Castro’s major intersections, where they placed a large pink triangle, a gay rights symbol, in the middle of the road. The protest had been cleared by police peacefully by mid-morning. On Facebook, activists had called for demonstrators to turn out on Christmas Eve morning to “create a visible, united front speaking out against the racist forces of police and vigilante violence against Black and Brown people, many of whom are queer or trans.”

Following the event, participants shared their enthusiasm on social media, and were evidently pleased with the media coverage of the event, as well as the public response, including that of “a Black motorist dad delayed with his daughter saying he’s glad she saw the protest and knows this is something she’ll remember!”

One commenter responded: “*crying** You all are so beautiful!! … while you were out there marching I was involved in a valuable forum about privilege, and how allies can be involved …*still tears*”. The concept behind solidarity marches is that minority groups can boost each other’s political impact by joining each other’s causes, transcending differences in confrontation with a common opponent.

However, there is no evidence that race or sexuality played a role in any of the recent police incidents.

The protests are to continue through Christmas Day in Oakland, the San Francisco Chronicle reports. Oakland has been the site of some of the most radical and violent demonstrations over the past several weeks.

Photo: Jamie Santos/Facebook

Senior Editor-at-Large Joel B. Pollak edits Breitbart California and is the author of the new ebook, Wacko Birds: The Fall (and Rise) of the Tea Party, available for Amazon Kindle.

Follow Joel on Twitter: @joelpollak