Downtown San Jose was a mess Saturday morning, the first day after what would be several nights of protests stemming from the killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis. But the resolute spirit of the community was also on full display that morning, as people showed up to repair some of the physical damage left behind.
Groundwerx, the cleanup crew funded by downtown business owners, was on the scene early along with city workers who painted over graffiti tags. But soon residents from surrounding neighborhoods showed up to sweep up glass and rubber bullets, to help business owners put boards up over broken windows and scrub tags off the walls of buildings, including Horace Mann Elementary School at the corner of Sixth and Santa Clara streets.
There were individuals and families with kids, nonprofit leaders and elected officials. Some heard the call for help on social media channels, others just stopped by and asked if they could lend a hand. Some had participated in the protests the afternoon and evening before.
By Monday morning, Beautify San Jose — a city program — started handing out clean-up kits including reflective vests and litter pick-up tools to volunteers from under a pop-up tent at City Hall. They were out again Tuesday morning and plan to return Wednesday morning at 10 a.m.
A GoFundMe campaign, working with the San Jose Downtown Association and arts collective Local Color, has been launched to help eateries and retail outlets — already hurting economically because of the coronavirus pandemic — repair damage and cover insurance deductibles. It had raised more than $8,000 by Tuesday afternoon. Small businesses — including Mezcal restaurant, arcade bar Miniboss, and dessert stop Cinnaholic — suffered damage downtown, but owners reacted with understanding and empathy instead of resentment.
3Below Theatres, where two windows were broken and a nearby trash can was lit on fire, posted a message on Facebook grateful that no one was injured: “Our hearts remain broken for George Floyd and his family. We hope the demonstrations throughout our country result in some positive change.”
It is encouraging that we can come together in community — whether it’s for a protest or a clean-up the next day. The actions of looters taking advantage of the situation should not take the focus away from the reasons protesters are demonstrating across the county.
Anger has been building in San Jose for decades over issues and incidents that most of the city’s residents have never had to face. This week’s clean-up efforts will not erase or hide those problems, nor should they. At Horace Mann School, the scrubbed tags have left scars all over the building that may be there for years. And scars are memories of pain and, we hope, healing.
STEP UP FOR A CAUSE: The coronavirus pandemic and accompanying shelter-in-place orders continue to affect nonprofit fundraising events. The Stroke Awareness Foundation postponed its ninth annual Fight Stroke Walk from its original May 3 date to an undetermined date this fall but encouraged supporters to walk as much as they could for their health.
Two other organizations, though, have turned their events into virtual walks taking place over the next few weeks. The Huntington’s Disease Society of America has its San Jose Virtual Team Hope Walk/Run planned for June 20 to raise money to fight the inherited neurological disorder. You can register at http://pacificreg.hdsa.org and then walk however — and wherever — you’d like.
And the YWCA of Silicon Valley’s Walk A Mile in Her Shoes event is also going virtual. You might recall this is the event where hundreds of guys from around the valley walk around Santana Row in high heels to raise awareness about sexual assault and raise money to fight it. Heels aren’t required for this year’s version, which will take place over a 56-hour span June 23-25, which acknowledges that a sexual assault happens in California every 56 minutes. Sign up to participate at www.ywca-sv.org/walk-a-mile-in-her-shoes.