Protesters in Ventura Denounce Racism : Activism: Passing motorists honk in support of the 75 marchers expressing their opposition to police brutality.

A small and peaceful march to protest racism and police brutality on Saturday drew honks of support from passing motorists and applause from pedestrians as about 75 people carrying signs and chanting slogans walked from Ventura High School to Mission Park.

Gabriel Serrano, a Latino activist in Ventura, led cheers through a bullhorn as he walked alongside the marchers, demanding, “What do we want?”

“Justice,” the protesters called back.

“When do we want it?” Serrano shouted. “Now!” answered the marchers, who included a multiracial group of men, women and children accompanied by four dogs.

One sign invited passersby to “Honk If You Hate Racism.” Others declared “It’s About Class, Not Race” and “Stop Hate, Fight Racism, Make Peace.”

Gathered at the park across from San Buenaventura Mission, community leaders and march organizers took to the portable stage and public address system to denounce racism and sexism. They urged unity among the races and genders throughout the nation.

The Rev. John Baylor, a longtime Ventura resident and pastor at the Olivet Baptist Church, told the group that racism, both overt and subtle, exists throughout Ventura County. Minorities, he said, come across it everyday when they enter the police station, City Hall and private business.

“If you are black or Hispanic, you are pushed to the back or asked to wait,” Baylor said. “. . . It’s time to come together as human beings. It’s time to tell the city and the county of Ventura that we will not put up with it anymore.”

John R. Hatcher III, county chapter president of the National Assn. for the Advancement of Colored People, told the marchers and another 25 onlookers that they hold the power to change the system with their votes.

He said he predicted the outcome of the Rodney G. King beating case when the trial of the four accused police officers was moved to Ventura County. The four officers were found not guilty of all but one charge, igniting riots in Los Angeles and across the country.

“When the system makes a travesty of justice, go back to the people who voted it in,” he said. “It’s a three-part system--the police, the district attorney and the judge.”

Ventura’s march and rally came one week after police in Simi Valley thwarted a planned march by white supremacists and took them into protective custody to prevent possible violence. At that march, Ventura County protesters against racism were joined by members of groups from Los Angeles and San Francisco, some of whom advocated violence against the supremacists.

The agitated and volatile group shouted at police and the supremacists and injured three people with sticks and soda cans before the crowd dispersed.

By contrast, Saturday’s march and rally were peaceful.

Three plainclothes policemen sat on the lawn or on nearby benches and listened to the speakers.

“We’re just here to keep the peace and make sure no one gets hurt,” said Sgt. Carl Handy, part of the Ventura Police Department’s special enforcement team. “I was impressed with the way they handled themselves.”

Eric William Jordan of Ventura, a corporal in the National Guard, said he took part in the march because he hopes similar protests for peace and against racism will prevent riots like those that set Los Angeles afire after the verdicts in the King case.

“I don’t want to go back to another one of those,” said Jordan, who was called into Los Angeles with the Guard to help keep the peace. “I saw more burning buildings there than I’ve seen altogether in my entire life.”

Judy Wahl, co-owner of the Insomniac Coffee House and Alternative Press in downtown Ventura, said she took up a sign and joined the protest because “people need to take back their power. We need to learn to collaborate with each other to live in peace and comfort.”

Kathy Yeomans of Ventura applauded the protesters marching by as she waited in line at a Main Street bank automated teller machine. “I think it’s wonderful that people can get out and be proud to stand up for something that is good,” she said.