Highway 50 protest will memorialize George Floyd, other Black people killed by police
Protesters on Thursday, the one-month anniversary of George Floyd’s death in police custody, will hold up signs along a 50-mile stretch of Highway 50 from El Dorado County to Sacramento County to memorialize Black people killed by law enforcement.
The protest – called “Black Lives: An American Overture” – is a grassroots civil action that will use large placards and banners on highway overpasses to flash the names of those killed, including Floyd, who was killed in Minneapolis police custody on May 25.
Moira Magneson, an organizer of the protest, said they want a repetitive visual of “name after name after name” of Black people killed by police to be seen by drivers and their passengers on Highway 50.
“People can’t ignore that, even if they want to,” Magneson told The Sacramento Bee. “They can’t close their eyes to it, because they’re driving.”
The protest at 28 pedestrian-friendly Highway 50 overpasses is scheduled from 5 to 7 p.m. Thursday as many head home from work. The demonstration will stretch from Alhambra Boulevard in Sacramento to the El Dorado Trail pedestrian overpass in Camino.
About 60 to 120 protesters who support racial equity, justice and the Black Lives Matter movement will stand peacefully on these overpasses holding signs, Magneson said. At least one protester at each overpass will hold a sign with a victim’s name facing traffic heading east and another facing traffic heading west.
“People are being killed every year,” Magneson said. “I want them to recognize that.”
The protest organizers are telling participants not to hang or affix signs to the overpass framework, which is illegal. Magneson said they don’t expect large numbers of protesters at each overpass.
Magneson, 63, of Placerville, participated in one of the George Floyd protests on June 6 in downtown Sacramento. She wanted to give older people a chance to protest Floyd’s death and support Black Lives Matters without the fear of contracting the coronavirus.
They’ll be outside among smaller groups of protesters, where people are required to wear a mask when safe social distancing is not possible.
“These are older folks who are susceptible to the coronavirus,” Magneson said. “But they are so supportive, and they want to express their support.”
