Black Lives Matter rally met by All Lives Matter counter protesters in Loomis

A Black Lives Matter protest in Loomis was met with counter protesters Saturday. The event, which started at 4 p.m. and lasted close to three hours, was organized by a Loomis woman.

Zasu Scott planned the protest the week prior, working to bring organizations like Folsom for Justice, JUICE, I Am SAC Foundation and Empact to the gathering.

While Loomis has a largely white population, Scott believes that it is still important for a protest to take place in the town.

“As an ally, it was my responsibility to build the trenches for change to happen here,” said Scott, 19. “I recognize that a lot of my friends of color don’t feel comfortable coming down here. They didn’t want to come to the event because they were scared. That’s the reason to have it.”

The Black Lives Matter protesters met at a skate park on Taylor Road, where leaders reviewed their rights, explained how to remain peaceful when faced with counter protesters and practiced chants. The group then marched down Horseshoe Bar Road to an overpass at Interstate 80.

Leading the chants as the march traveled was a woman who identified herself to The Sacramento Bee only as Demi, a member of Folsom for Justice. Holding a megaphone, Demi cycled through many of the oft-heard chants, focusing particularly on Black people killed by police, including George Floyd, Breonna Taylor and Sacramento’s Stephon Clark. She felt it was important to come to Loomis because the small Black community needed to be heard and supported.

“There are small black communities everywhere that are afraid to speak,” Demi said.

Among the protesters was Mary McCurdy, wearing a shirt that read, in handwritten marker, “Grandmas for BLM.”

“I just watch what’s going on and I feel for people who are afraid all the time,” McCurdy said. “I don’t have to worry about that. I can look in my rear-view mirror and feel safe. I just know young Black men cannot.”

Along the march, Placer County Sheriff’s Office cars lined the street and asked protesters to remain on the sidewalk. The group walked in one lane of traffic.

As protesters arrived, they were met with about 30 counter protesters along the other side of Horseshoe Bar Road. Wearing red, white and blue, the counter protesters waved American flags. Many acknowledged that Black lives matter, but would retort that all lives matter.

The counter protesters also expressed pro-police sentiment, shouting that the officers at the protest were here to protect everyone and that not all law enforcement officers are bad. Thin blue line flags adorned hats and shirts.

Some shouting matches ensued between the two sides, but protesters and counter protesters alike encouraged their peers to disengage.

Black Lives Matter protesters spread onto the overpass, where their signs saying “BLM” and “Black LGBTQ Lives Matter” could be seen by I-80 travelers.

Around 5:30 p.m., BLM protesters moved into the main intersection, blocking traffic and forming a line at the base of the overpass. A few minutes later, authorities convinced them to move into the Raley’s parking lot to let traffic flow.

A counter protester in the parking lot attempted to make a speech while a BLM activist was speaking to the crowd, leading to a close, tense argument.

Another woman came into the parking lot in her car, bumping two women. Police approached the woman, as BLM activists shouted that she hit someone with her car. Officials eventually persuaded her to back up and drive a different way.

Nick Butler, a member of Folsom for Justice, encouraged protesters to disengage from counter protesters, despite how angry they might feel.

“The problem is not the counter protesters. The problem is racist policies,” Butler said. “We are working to change a bigger picture and if we waste our time engaging with counter protesters, we are not accomplishing our goal, we are simply having an argument.”

The BLM protesters, which reached up to 400 people, included people from all over the Sacramento area.

“We are all a part of the same team,” said Rachel Moseley, a supporter from Sacramento.

While there were about 12 police cars blocking freeway entrances and parked along the route of the march, the officers were largely hands off, except to stop fights between the two sides and to keep traffic moving.

As BLM protesters marched back to the skate park, they faced significant opposition from customers at LBB Gastropub & Smokehouse on Taylor Road. One woman shouted back at protesters, who were chanted loudly and calling into megaphones, as a young girl at her table cried.

At the skate park, the organizers thanked protesters and congratulated them on having a successful march before most left.

An escort of BLM protesters’ cars led pedestrians back to the Raley’s parking lot, where many had parked, out of fear of counter protesters. No actions or arguments with counter protesters occurred on the way back.

Scott said the group is considering a forum between the two sides in Loomis, to try to have more understanding.

“We want to be very clear that we have no intention of talking with anybody that is violent. We have no intention of compromising our beliefs that we need to see racial justice in this country and we need to see Black people stop being murdered, but we do want to start building those bridges so everyone can understand each other,” Scott said.

This story was originally published July 26, 2020 at 1:07 PM.