Activists Locked To Entrances Of Oakland Federal Building In Solidarity With Black Civil Rights

OAKLAND (CBS SF) -- About 25 activists locked themselves together to block an entrance of the Oakland Federal Building in solidarity with the BART protests in San Francisco Friday morning.

The activists locked their arms together using sections of PVC pipe and are blocking the two main entrances of the Ronald Dellums Federal Building.

Protesters first locked themselves to the building at about 5:30 a.m. and a crowd of about 150 people has grown steadily throughout the morning.

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The protesters say they are there to link the struggles of people in developing nations to movements for black civil rights in the U.S. The protest was organized by groups including the Haiti Action Committee and the Arab Resource and Organizing Center.

"We're here to lift up the Martin Luther King legacy of internationalism," Arab Resource and Organizing Center executive director Lara Kiswani said.

A few federal police officers with Homeland Security were present at the peaceful protest but showed no intention of shutting it down as of about 8:30 a.m.

In:
• Black Friday
• BART
• Protest
• Oakland