A crowd of peaceful demonstrators gathered on the corner of Florence and Normandie Ave. in South Los Angeles to unite and commend the guilty verdict of Derek Chauvin.
This intersection is just days away from being the 29 year anniversary of violent events stemming from the L.A. Riots of 1992, which were the result of a not guilty verdict in an early modern example of police brutality caught on tape.
Loud music played, including that of the late rapper DMX, while demonstrators sang along and waved various signs and flags in support of the verdict and Black Lives Matter.
Members of the crowd spoke to each other about the news, while also opening up about this being the start of a long road ahead for justice and police accountability.
The smells of an impromptu taco stand wafted across the sidewalk while multiple people wrote messages on the sidewalk with colorful chalk.
“Know justice, know peace,” “Black Lives Matter,” “All cops are Chauvin,” and “Black & Brown Unity,” were among many messages drawn on the sidewalk.
Drivers passing by honked loudly and pumped their fists out their windows and sunroofs to show their support.
One driver honked and held up a bottle of cognac, another driver in a convertible had plain black and smiley-face balloons billowing out the back seat.
The police had no presence at this demonstration although a few police cruisers passed through and were accompanied by a silent chorus of middle fingers from the crowd.
Eventually a LAPD helicopter circled above overhead for a couple of passes, being mostly ignored by the crowd, before moving on.