Protesters who say they want to reclaim the radical legacy of Martin Luther King Jr. rallied for a couple of hours Monday morning outside the home of new Oakland Mayor Libby Schaaf.
The crowd gathered at 5 a.m. Around 40 demonstrators chanted, "Turn it up, don't turn it down, we do this for Mike Brown."
Demonstrators also danced and held vigils for local residents killed by police. They stood with fists raised while speeches from Martin Luther King Jr. played on a speaker, including his famous "A Time to Break Silence" address, criticizing the Vietnam War.
The protesters said they take issue with the mayor spending her first day in office with the police department. Some said they did not like the way Schaaf dealt with officer-involved shootings when she was on the City Council.
Bay Area News Group reported that demonstrators drew outlines of bodies in the street. From the report:
They also rang her doorbell and handed her husband a list of demands that include dismantling the Oakland school district's police force, ending paid leave for city officers being investigated in questionable shootings, overhauling a state law that limits public access to police personnel records, and ending ties with Israel.
One protester, Xan West, said she came to "pray for Libby and bring a change to our neighborhoods."