Volunteers began showing up early for the 9 a.m. scheduled event. By 9:30 a.m., roughly fifty had arrived.

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Organizers from Black Lives Matter-Long Beach had sign-in sheets for volunteers as well as a table prepared with fruit/carbohydrates for the day's walkers.

Walkers received printed walk-pieces that included a map, tally sheets and questions to ask neighbors. The questions included what they saw or heard on the day of the murder; if they'd seen white-supremacist or racist graffiti or symbols in the park or in the neighborhood before or after the murder; if they'd seen a vehicle displaying such symbols in the area...and if LBPD had asked them about these matters or sought other information about the homicide. One co-organizer referred to the day's event as a "community investigation."

Walkers were also given a flier to hand out to neighborhood residents. One side described Mr. Taft's role as a family patriarch and offered a suspect description that included a matter that LBPD hasn't confirmed or denied: that after the shooting, the shooter walked briskly from the restroom "carrying a long gun." The reverse side of the flier showed symbols it said are common to hate groups (for use by walkers in asking neighbors if they'd seen such symbols in or around the park or on vehicles in the area.)

The flier for residents stated: :

Frederick Taft's family very much believes that his murder was a hate crime. The park has seen a rash of graffiti using hateful language and symbols, a regular occurrence of a white man driving by and screaming racial slurs at children and adults using the park, and stickers that have been stuck to a light post. When this murder[er] is caught he should be charged with a hate crime.

The flier added: "If you saw something, heard something or know who has been terrorizing people using Pan Am Park don't keep it to yourself"...and listed the Black Lives Matter-Long Beach phone number.

The event drew a racially and geopgraphically diverse crowd of volunteers. By a show of hands, some said they came from the nearby neighborhood while others indicated they came from various parts of the city.

A woman identifying herself as Shelley, a neighborhood resident, offered supportive words.

Representatives of SURJ (Showing Up for Racial Justice) prepared and distributed window signs stating: "Lakewood Village Is No Place For Hate" for distribution to neighborhood residents. The photo below shows one of the signs attached to the door of the restroom where Mr. Taft was fatally shot. Memorial candles are on the sidewalk below.

Members of the Taft family also attended and delivered emotional, heartfelt, statements one day after Mr. Taft's funeral at a Carson church drew a crowd so large that it overflowed onto the sidewalk. The family members thanked residents for their support and for turning out for the neighborhood canvassing.

Black Lives Matter-LBC organizers conducted the event in solemn, respectful tones absent of racially polarizing rhetoric, while disagreeing with LBPD over its unwillingness at this point to call the murder a racially-motivated hate crime. (LBPD says "Although this appears to be an isolated incident, the motive for the murder has not been determined and remains under investigation.")

As reported by LBREPORT.com on August 16, LBPD issued a release stating that it attaches "paramount importance" to solving the crime, stated that it's "seeking the public's assistance in identifying the suspect or suspects responsible for the tragic murder of Fred Taft" and distributed the release via multiple channels, including social networks. LBPD's Aug. 16 release stated: "Detectives believe there are individuals who might have information regarding this incident but have yet to come forward."

A Black Lives Matter-Long Beach organizer told LBREPORT.com that she believes LBPD's Aug. 16 release and social network outreach was a response to the group's scheduled Aug. 18 event.

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