Seattle Black Lives Matter Protest Disrupts Black Friday

SEATTLE, WA - Black Friday shoppers in downtown Seattle were met with a large Black Lives Matter protest Friday afternoon. Chanting "into the streets, out of the stores," the Black Lives Matter protesters blocked the Westlake Center mall and stayed put until the annual tree lighting on Friday evening. The demonstration was peaceful, and no one was arrested.

The demonstration began downtown around noon when marchers headed up 1st Avenue toward Westlake. Seattle police corralled the crowd of several hundred forcing them east and then south on 3rd Avenue. Around 1:30 p.m., the protesters made it to the Westlake mall, joining arms to block entrances, including the entrance of the Nordstrom Rack and Zara stores.

Seattle police stood between the protesters and the stores, allowing an alleyway for consumers to move in and out of stores. The main front entrance to the mall was locked, bewildering some shoppers.

By about 2:45 p.m., the number of Black Lives Matter protesters thinned, but a core group remained to challenge shoppers to join their protest.

All around the mall, shoppers and onlookers stared and took video of the protest. Some shoppers were in favor of the demonstration, others vehemently not.

A couple, Albert and Kristina (they didn't want to give their last names), watched the protest from the middle of Pine Street. They called the activism "good" but said they did not want to participate.

Standing across the street at Westlake Park, Seattle resident Brandy Morgan watched the demonstration, and didn't like it.

"It's bulls--t. Today is about the kids, not this," Morgan said, referring to holiday festivities.

Morgan, originally from Texas, was upset that Seattle police were allowing the protesters to continue on. In Texas, she said, police would just put the protesters and zip tie handcuffs haul them off.

She added, "All lives matter, not just black lives."

Nearby, Bill Nickell, from Chelan, watched the protesters. He also felt the demonstration was inappropriate because it distracted from festivities.

"I wish they would do it somewhere else," he said.

But that's exactly what the protest was about: disrupting the Black Friday binge-shopping routine. The protesters placed themselves in the core of Seattle's shopping district, forcing passersby to see their message. This is the fourth year Black Lives Matter has held a demonstration on Black Friday. In 2016, hundreds of demonstrators marched all around the downtown area, shutting down streets as they went.

This year, the demonstrators focused on the killing of Charleena Lyles. She was shot to death in her Sandpoint apartment in June by two Seattle police officers. The officers said Lyles came at them with a knife, but skeptics believe the police resorted to deadly force too quickly. The chant "Say her name, Charleena Lyles" was heard throughout the day.

Sisters Shelly and Linda (they also didn't want to give last names), stood watching the protest, coffee in hand, from the top of the stairs at the west side of Westlake Center.

"I support them," Linda said.

"People spread fear about coming down here," Shelly said. "But we've had no issues with this."

By 4 p.m., large crowds packed the Westlake area for festivities surrounding the lighting of a holiday tree. The remaining demonstrators were squeezed into a small area directly in front of the tree. At that point, the demonstration was hard to discern from the rest of the crowd.

A few demonstrators antagonized police, chanting "A-C-A-B," which stand for "all cops are bastards." Seattle police stood nearby unperturbed.

Photos by Neal McNamara/Patch