Political and Social Commentary | A Picture's Worth

About 100 young protesters gathered in front of Chico Nut on Saturday to organize for a march down the Esplanade to the city plaza. They marched in solidarity with Michael Brown, Eric Garner, Tamir Rice, John Crawford and Akai Gurley, black American citizens recently shot to death by white police officers in different parts of our country.

The marchers, led by Jaquan Sayres, were peaceful and well-behaved, even when they chose to leave the sidewalks and go directly into the street, blocking traffic and risking arrest. Event Monitors from the Chico chapter of the Northern California ACLU walked beside the large group to keep the crowed moving and to make sure everyone was safe. Local police were present but didn’t interfere with the march. Below, in photos, are highlights of the march.

Jaquan Sayer, march organizer

Marchers gather at Chico Nut on the Esplanade.

Protesters gather at Chico Nut on the Esplanade.

Sue Hilderbrand from KZFR interviews a protester.

Sign second from right quotes Abe Lincoln.

Not reported in the news.

Police were present along the route.

Marchers head downtown.

Sign on right quotes Elie Wiesel.

Walking in silence, marchers take to the street.

Blocking traffic on both sides of the Esplanade.

ACLU Event monitors.

Still in the street.

Still in silent protest, marchers block traffic by Children’s Park.

Marchers head for City Plaza on Broadway.

Marchers arrive at City Plaza where a rally followed the march.

In Tom Gascoyne’s front page article in last week’s News&Review, he coined the phrase “City of Stumps.” It’s in ironic contrast to Chico’s official designation of “Tree City USA,” as bestowed on our town by the National Arbor Day Foundation. But Gascoyne’s designation does seem more appropriate these days. Yesterday, in the deepening twilight of an on-coming storm, 25 city street trees were cut down on Mission Ranch Blvd. in Chico. The neighbors complained of dropping limbs and raised sidewalks. However, several local tree advocates offered numerous ways these problems could be mitigated, to no avail. Only 3 city council members wanted to save the trees (Gruendl, Ritter and Stone). During the council discussion our-now-Mayor Sorensen stated, “Cut them down. The sooner the better.” Let’s hope this callous comment won’t be his ongoing mantra for our urban forest. (see photos below)